Stem cells should be harvested from adults, not embryos
Up to 40-50 million babies are aborted each year, according to WHO. Some are are discarded, but others are used for research, such as harvesting stem cells. To obtain stem cells, a woman must have an abortion when the child is 3-5 days old, or embryos are grown in labs and stem cells harvested that way. This practice, obviously, is highly controversial. The stem cell research controversy revolves around the ethics of research involving the development, use, and destruction of human embryos. This controversy zeros in on embryonic stem cells. Not all embryonic cells, or 4-5 day old fertilized eggs, used for research are human cells. Some believe that these infant cells will help with human’s healing and reproductive process. Others see the use of these cells as killing off potential life. In response to this controversy, stem cells should be used for medical rehabilitation, but we should only use adult stem cells, which can help cure major diseases.
Stem cell research should only be used for medical rehabilitation, not for other purposes such as fertility treatments. Many infertile women are looking into embryonic cells as an option to have children. Although deep sympathy is given towards these women, adoption is always another alternative. There are so many children who need loving, caring families, yet people are still choosing to go through with fertility treatments. If you have have a disease and are in need of an organ, but you have no “match”, stem cells are a useful solution, but since other options for things such as infertility exist, stem cells should not be harvested and used for that purpose.
With adult stem cells, a body could heal much faster than with another person’s organ. Although embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated, adult stem cells don't cause harm to the population. The cells are more mature and can adapt to the needed area of pain or injury. It’s less harmful to young and developing life. Stem cells should not be harvested from embryos. For embryonic cells, they must be extracted from a woman and put into another person’s body.
These specialized cells can also help cure major diseases and health problems. Peyton Manning, a former quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, had suffered from a neck injury. Manning had to travel to Europe for the stem cell treatment because it is not legal in the United States. Kobe Bryant went to Germany for treatment of his knee injury. Michael J. Fox, the star of the Back to the Future movies, suffers from Parkinson’s disease. His health is declining. Could these stem cells help cure Fox? If he decides to go along with treatment, or knowledge about the cure for Parkinson’s is discovered, he may not be around much longer otherwise. In short, adults with physical disabilities can benefit from stem cell treatment as long, of course, as those stem cells are harvested from adults rather than aborted fetuses.
On the other hand, many people, especially scientists and those in need of stem cell treatment, advocate the harvesting of stem cells from embryos and aborted babies. They claim that the using embryonic stem cells could be extremely effective, much more so than stem cells from older people. 3-5 day old cells can mold into any type of cell. For example, it can be put into the body if someone has a bad liver, and can conform into a liver cell. However, even though these younger cells are fresher and better, they come at a cost, the cost being the destruction of what could become a human life. Thus adult stem cells are better because they helps boost the population as a young life is not being discarded and used for medical research.
In conclusion, stem cells should not be used for reproduction purposes, adult stem cells are the way to go, and these specialized cells could possibly cure major diseases. If we use adult stem cells our population will not take a nosedive like it has been. With mature cells we can help put children who need to be adopted into great homes and we can cure Parkinson’s disease and many others.