I still need a beginning paragraph, and I plan on having more supporting information. And a title. But this is basically it.
Using embryonic stem-cells to treat diseases is wrong and unneeded. An embryo, the beginning of human life, is created and then destroyed for the sake of treating another’s disease, but it’s unnecessary to do so. Adult stem-cells work just as well, don’t require this destruction, and can come from the sick person themselves, so there is less of a chance of them rejecting the treatment (Underwood). It is wrong to destroy what is indisputably the beginning of human life for the sake of embryonic stem-cell research when adult stem-cells are proven to be more effective.
Embryonic stem-cells are cells that are extracted from a certain part of an embryo, as the name describes, but this cannot be done without the resultant destruction of the embryo itself (Stem). It is theorized that they can be used cure genetic diseases and even regenerate organs, but “despite millions of dollars of research, not one--not one--embryonic stem-cell trial has resulted in the successful treatment of a human patient” (Forbes).
Adult stem-cells, on the other hand, are cells taken from the tissues of us grown humans. Again, a pretty self-explanatory name. They’ve actually been successful in saving people’s lives in surgeries. Not only that, but scientists have discovered a way to alter adult stem-cells so that they function exactly the way embryonic stem-cells do. “These cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), can do everything an embryonic stem cell is capable of, only without having to destroy a human embryo” (Forbes). Also, with adult stem-cells coming from the patient themselves, it’s more likely that their body will not reject the treatment and they can be well again.
“Over the years, adult stem cells have resulted in 73 successful treatments for various diseases like Alzheimer's, Type 1 Diabetes, Parkinson's, and various forms of cancer” (Forbes). So, I ask you, if adult stem-cells are obviously working so well and embryonic stem-cells have yet to show any successes, why do we bother with them?
For some reason, scientists still have reservations about using adult-stem cells over embryonic. Last year, a clinical trial was conducted in which ten people, paralyzed from the waist down, received a low-dose treatment of embryonic stem-cells injected into their spinal cords. “Although it's not clear yet whether the treatment is effective or safe, the restoration of even partial [motor function] would be a huge advance” (Underwood).
However, the article reporting this also said scientists were reluctant to use the newly discovered iPS cells: “[They]… will not be used as replacement tissue for spinal cords and other organs. Because iPS cells have subtle (and potentially dangerous) differences from true embryonic stem cells, many doctors are leery of putting them directly into patients …” (Underwood). But wait, didn’t we just see above that we weren’t sure if embryonic stem-cells were safe, either? So we have established that both iPS adult stem-cells and embryonic stem-cells are not determined to be completely safe, and we’ve also established that iPS cells have garnered much more success thus far. Which one would you bet your money on to be more helpful?
So here we are, wasting money on embryonic stem-cell research when adult stem-cells are ethical and work more effectively to treat diseases conditions such as paralysis.
In addition, using an embryo as treatment for diseases is killing a baby. Could you do that morally? If you think that it’s not murder, just answer these questions.
Would you kill a perfectly healthy eight-year-old? Probably not, assuming you’re not a psycho serial killer. How about an equally healthy five-year-old? I’m guessing that you would not extinguish the life of a two-year-old or baby just born an hour ago. But would you kill the baby the day before it was born, or a month?
At which point, in your opinion, does the embryo start being human?
Whatever your view is in this aspect, embryos are undeniably the start of a human life. To cut off that life at the very beginning is to stop that adorable, smiling baby from coming into the world and making something great. The unrealized potential for the embryo is astounding.
Luckily, this doesn’t have to happen anymore. Adult stem-cells have already surpassed embryonic stem-cells in their ability to treat diseases and conditions like paralysis, and they already show promise in curing genetic diseases such as Huntington’s (insert citation here). Whether using embryos in stem-cell research is murder in your eyes or not, it’s true that adult-stem cells are more effective in making people healthy. If only scientists would see that too…
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