stem cell

[Guest rubberducky]

Hi , i am doing a research paper on stem cell research. Can someone help me , by giving me some of the many negatives of stem cell research. Thank you very much.

[Leonard]

Well, stem cell research is almost 25 years old, using adult, umbilical cord, and fetal (read 'murdered baby') stem cells.

In all that time, there have been (as I understand the matter) about 300,000 human interventions with adult and umbilical cord stem cells, but that with fetal stem cells, they've never even been able to get close to having a human intervention, much less a SUCCESSFUL one.

Adult and umbilical cord stem cell research seems quite promising while fetal stem cell research has been a dead end for 25 years!

[Guest charlie]

Try this link; I think it's pretty comprehensive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem-cell_research

The main "negative" is an ethical one; an exerpt from the above link:

Some ethicists and religious figures are very concerned with the ethical implications of embryonic stem cell research. Some people believe that a human blastocyst is a human being with the same fundamental human rights. Some of these people thus oppose embryonic stem cell research because the start of each cell line involves the destruction of a blastocyst.

This view raises other issues, as the blastocysts involved in the research are left over from in vitro fertility therapy, and when not used in additional therapy or in embryonic stem cell research are destroyed or frozen indefinitely by the thousands[9] (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040531-641157,00.html).

To some, this does not address the concern that using doomed blastocysts in embryonic stem cell research is viewed as instrumentalizing a developing human being.

In the U.S., many Christian groups (such as Fundamentalists, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox) believe that a human blastocyst is a human being and oppose embryonic stem cell research.

Others do not view a blastocyst as a human being, and may instead see opposition of stem cell research as unethical due to the suffering that new medical technologies could prevent. Many Jews, Muslims, Humanists, and Unitarian Universalists, as well as a significant number of mainstream Christians are supportive of embryonic stem cell research.

[Guest charlie]

listening to the senator brought back the reasoning that German doctors once used to justify their experiments on concentration camp inmates. They were going to die anyway; why just throw them away? So these subjects of scientific curiosity would be dipped into freezing water to determine how long downed fighter pilots might be expected to survive in the North Atlantic. When they froze to death, the experiment was successfully concluded.

Are you suggesting that the frozen invitro cells stay frozen? Or are you suggesting that all in-vitro fertilization be banned; made illegal?

And remember that they were doomed anyway, and you can see the (brutal) logic of it.

Again, are you suggesting that all in vitro fertilization be banned; made illegal?

They are microscopic dots, they have no awarness and feel no pain.

If you think embryonic stem-cell research is unethical you should tell your pastor and your neighbors to start putting pressue on radio/t.v. evangelists to start speaking out against in-vitro fertilization. You should call also call your representatives and tell them that instead of standing in the way of embryonic stem-cell research they should go straight to the source of the cells and pass laws banning in-vitro fertilization. That would put a stop to the destruction of these cells; otherwise, they'll end up being destroyed whether they flushed down the drain or used in research.

btw - I saw a program on t.v. a few years back and was suprised at the end when they said our govt. kept the results of those experiments rather than destroying them.

[Joe@actsii]

Try www.str.org

It is an organization called Stand To Reason. They are great. Just type in the subject in there search engine. Good luck.

[Leonard]

Has anybody else here read the little series of books called DOCTORS OF DEATH: Medicine under the Nazi Regime?

[Work in Progress]

Has anybody else here read the little series of books called DOCTORS OF DEATH:  Medicine under the Nazi Regime?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, but they sound like interesting reading. Where can we get them?

[Guest charlie]

I don't know if I could stand to read em. I watched a couple of programs on Joseph Mengela and the experiments he did on people, many of them children and it turned my stomach. Sick!

[Pax]

Stem Cell research is a Pro-Life issue. I commend President Bush for standing up for what is right. If one believes that life begins at conception (Which is clearly does) than embryonic stem cell research will kill human life. It also opens up a pandora's box with the whole cloning issue. One must remember we can't kill life to potentially save life. This is unthical, and like some one pointed out earlier, this is not different than the Nazis doing research on the Jews to find cures for diseases. Many times these Jews were tortured and put to death in the process. Very sick and cruel. The reason society can't get this, is because a fertilized egg doesn't look anything like a human.

[Guest charlie]

So do you oppose in vitro fertilization or just embryonic stem-cell research? Or do you oppose both?

Edited June 29, 2005 by charlie