Where Should the Line Be Drawn on Stem Cell Research?

By Tony N. Lugo, Title ????

After primitive hominids made their journey out of Africa millions of years ago, the level of human consciousness began to evolve dramatically. Human intelligence made it possible to understand the concepts of irrigation, geometry, astrophysics and what charms or remedies were needed to cure the sick. Sadly, like our predecessors came to realize, all human ailments and diseases aren’t entirely curable. Therefore, with the aid of science and the help of technology, scientists are presently looking to try and solve this problem by experimenting with embryonic stem cells. They hope to extend the life spans of human beings diagnosed with incurable diseases, but their quest to prolong life has raised many moral and ethical questions. 
Embryonic stem cells originate inside the shell of an embryo. Once an egg is united with sperm a single cell begins to form, which has the potential to become an entire living organism. This potential is made possible because the egg, after a few days, develops embryonic stem cells that will eventually mature into the cell types that make up a living being. These cell types, just to name a few, include the cells of the heart, kidney, liver, skin and nerve tissue. This would mean that a large portion of the human anatomy’s inner and outer configuration is made up of stem cells.

The potential of these embryonic stem cells was realized about a decade ago. Scientists conducted experiments on animal embryos and found that their stem cells were astonishingly versatile. Scientists isolated the stem cells in their earliest stage and grew them in lab dishes. By placing them in lab dishes, scientist could now decide what these stem cells would become because they stopped the cells from differentiating into specific types of cell tissue. Once this was accomplished, they focused their attention on rodents that were in poor health or suffered from diseases that were very common in human beings.

Rodents that suffered spinal cord injuries were injected with predetermined nerve cells, in hopes of rejuvenating parts of the central nervous system. After the cells were injected, they adapted well in their new surroundings and became new neurons. The rodents were able to support most of their body weight because they regained feeling in both their legs. Scientists also experimented on rats that suffered strokes in the brain’s motor cortex. The motor cortex is the outer layer of gray matter covering the brain. If damaged, movement is no longer possible. To combat this paralyzing disorder, scientists injected nerve cells into the cortex of the rats. The results were amazing. The cells headed directly towards the lesions that were affecting the outer layer of the brain, became new neurons and restored the connections needed for movement. The results of these separate experiments were scientific breakthroughs. 

The potential of these embryonic stem cells have lead scientists to believe that life can be prolonged for many of those suffering from incurable diseases. They want to develop these stem cells in invitro fertilization centers, by fusing sperm with eggs in petri dishes. Two days after the initial fertilization, the cell in the egg begins to divide and multiply into a ball of uniform cells that resemble dusty bundled up grapes. Roughly two days later, these uniform cells create the blastocyst that is made up of a cluster of stem cells. At this point, the process of development is halted because scientists do not want these cells to begin forming the cell types that make up the human body. 

Since scientists have prevented the cells from reaching their fullest potential, they can now isolate the cells and grow them in lab dishes in order to develop them into specific types of cell tissue. By specifying them, they can in turn transplant them into damaged tissues, in hopes of replacing the diseased cells in a given patient. If the transfer is accomplished and successful, debilitating diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will be a thing of the past. The neuronal tissue damaged by these two dreaded diseases will be treated, in theory, with newly injected nerve embryonic cells that have been appropriately produced in lab dishes. Even patients suffering from chronic heart disease could benefit from this research because embryonic stem cells could be cultured to produce cardiac muscle cells to take the place of the defective cells. Furthermore, embryonic stem cells may even be able to rejuvenate failing livers ruined by hepatitis or replace cartilage deteriorated by arthritis. Based on these promising possibilities, stem cells could help those patients who are in a race against time.

The question that has now been raised is where should the line be drawn? “Right to life” advocates point out that these fertilized embryos are equivalent to genetically functional human beings like you and me. They feel that scientists have no regard for human life because these embryos are solely used for scientific purposes and afterwards automatically discarded. They consider embryonic disposal to be just as sinful as abortion; so they are calling for this research to end immediately because human life should be respected and protected. Activists also claim that pharmaceutical companies and research universities have their own cynical reasons for supporting the continuation of these experiments. Both of these medical institutional fields, they stress, are looking to benefit from these newfound methods of treatment by gaining greater recognition and prestige, which will lead to additional financial support from private investors.

Activists have also focused their attention on our federal government. As of today, the United States government has no intention of providing additional financial support for up and coming stem cell research groups, but they will continue to fund preexisting ones. They do this to relieve the fears of the general public and at the same time keep up with countries like Britain, who openly experiment with stem cells, in hopes of one day dominating the stem cell market. 
Sociologists have also joined in on the debate. They fear that if scientists start developing these embryos further, Dolly the cloned sheep may become Dolly the cloned person. If technology makes it possible for people to actually clone themselves, death could be cheated because people will simply replace themselves before their bodies physically break down. They also advocate that this research might give way to human genetical engineering, where people are given the privilege of designing the genetical makeup of their future children. This can lead to all types of discrimination against children that may be considered intellectually inferior or possess mental and physical disabilities. Furthermore, employers, along with their insurance companies, may not want to hire a person with an ominous medical profile. 

Supporters of stem cell line development have a different perspective on the subject in question. Many politicians and theologians admit that stem cell line development is a far cry from natural conception, but the potential of this research is too promising to discontinue. They believe that these discarded embryos aren’t similar to aborted fetuses because they are not nine weeks old or developing within a uterus. These embryos, they highlight, are merely cultivated in lab dishes to produce specific stem cells that will help patients in need of cell tissue restoration. In their opinion, if this research is suspended, patients that could have benefited from these stem cells will continue to suffer. They will suffer because people couldn’t accept the fact that these embryos, which were fertilized in lab dishes, were thrown away after their therapeutic cells were removed in order to benefit a person in need. 

This debate will continue to persist, but I feel that patients in need should not be denied the opportunity to experience the potential rejuvenating effects of these therapeutic cells based on ethical grounds or moral principles. Seemingly, technology is making it possible for scientists to extend the lives of those patients suffering, so people should embrace stem cells and their potential rejuvenating abilities. These stem cells, in my opinion, may one day prolong the lives of humans who are diagnosed with incurable diseases and at the same time solve a problem that has plagued mankind from the very beginning.

You may be asking yourself, what possessed Tony to write this piece? Well, I have always been fascinated by the history of human evolution and the steps we are presently taking as a species to continue our development into the twenty-first century. For the last six months, I have been diligently reading articles, watching news segments and speaking with a biologist on the subject. This piece is a semi-product of my most recent term paper that I wrote for my natural science course in John Jay College.



Live Wire invites the college community – faculty, staff, and administrators – the opportunity to express its opinion. Please E-mail Live Wire with your position, yes or no, for continued stem cell research. As well, Live Wire invites you to write up your position for publication.

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