Politics Information

The Morality of Using Stem Cells


One third of all fertilized eggs spontaneously abort and are expelled from a woman's body. We do not have funerals or mourn these embryos. Could it be that they are not really "babies" yet? Only when it is convenient do people call these clumps of cells, babies or fetuses. They are not fetuses. Stem cells are retrieved when the embryo is about five days old. There is a big difference between an embryo and a fetus. The thought of not using a five day old clump of cells that is going to be thrown away is irrational. It is not a person. Yes, it is life but so is a cow headed for the slaughterhouse or a stalk of corn.

The biological clump of cells used in embryonic stem cell research is smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. It has no nervous system and is not able to experience any senses or feelings, that means no soul. It has no plans to become a human. What it does have is the potential to cure diseases for millions of people. It is just a possible cure but we need to find out and to do that we need to fund research.

In the fertility clinics around the country, extra embryos are sitting in freezers awaiting disposal, if not kept for the possible creation of a sibling. Many couples opt for disposal instead of having that embryo used to create a child for someone else because they do not want their child raised by someone else.

Multiple embryos are created to insure that at least one is viable. Shouldn't these embryos be used to help others instead of being trown away? What is the possible benefit of throwing them away instead of using them for research? Does a five day old clump of cells have the same moral value as a child?

Stem cells are cells that can replicate themselves and also generate more specialized cells as they multiply. Stem cells occur at all stages of human development from embryo to adult, but their versatility and abundance gradually decrease with age. While embryonic stem cells may become any of the 200 different types of specialized cells that make up the body. An embryonic stem cell could become a cardiac muscle cell, nerve tissue, connective tissue, bone marrow, a skin cell, blood components, part of the digestive tract, etc. Adult stem cells appear to be less versatile than embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells could possibly be used for organ transplants. People are dying waiting for transplant organs all of the time.

To put it bluntly, why would anyone rather a few cells be thrown away in a bio-bag as opposed to helping another human being live to his or her potential?

Jackie Wellman - author of Spiritual Clarity, http://www.hoppy.bravehost.com, http://spiritualclarity.blogspot.com


MORE RESOURCES:

RNC Launches New Radio Ad in London, USA: 'Obama Chooses ...
FOXBusiness - 4 hours ago
Obama chose Washington politics over the needs of our military. As a veteran and someone who has always put the public interest first, John McCain stood by ...
RNC Airs Anti-Obama Ads in Berlin–NO Not That One FOXNews
Obama Buys Olympics Airtime, While RNC Runs Spot In Paris...Maine CBS News
While Barack's Away... National Journal
PolitickerPA
all 34 news articles


McCain and Obama - character flaws and politics
Dallas Morning News, TX - 7 hours ago
Is anyone else as sick and tired of hearing John McCain say that he would rather lose an election than lose a war? It was cute and revealing when he applied ...


Time Warner Sets ‘Politics 2008’ Conference
Broadcasting & Cable, NY - 5 hours ago
The company said it would invite leading media organizations and analysts, political operatives and pundits to talk about what the future will look like ...


Batman's Take on 9/11 Era Politics? Drop the Fearmongering
AlterNet, CA - 17 hours ago
... "biggest" ideas of the year, according to James Fallows writing in the Atlantic Magazine, is the End of 9/11 as a metanarrative for American politics. ...


New York Times Blogs

A New Domincan Face in Bronx Politics
New York Times Blogs, NY - 2 hours ago
(Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times) Few people inside or outside of Bronx political circles knew much about Nelson Castro just a few months ago. ...


DEJA VU: Politics, rock 'n' roll meet in new Crosby, Stills, Nash ...
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Jul 24, 2008
That's why this film -- part concert documentary, part political commentary, part human drama -- often focuses on the loss of life, along with the shattered ...


Politics of fear: Satire, sincere or both?
Cassopolis Vigilant,  USA - 6 hours ago
The New Yorker came under heavy fire for the cover titled, "The Politics of Fear." Critics said it crossed the line, depicting the Obamas as terrorists. ...


It's politics as 5 Iraqis are out of Olympics
Detroit Free Press, United States - 17 hours ago
BY NICHOLAS SPANGLER and SAHAR ISSA • MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS • July 25, 2008 BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Five Iraqi athletes invited to the Beijing Olympic Games have ...


Race, Politics, and the Media: A Roundtable Discussion From the ...
Democracy Now, NY - 10 hours ago
We now host a discussion about race, politics, and the media. We’re joined by two guests from the UNITY convention in Chicago. Roberto Lovato is a frequent ...


High-Profile Rwanda Mission Puts Humanitarian Concerns Above Politics
Voice of America - 18 hours ago
By Howard Lesser In the 14 years since its genocide, Rwanda has made one of the most remarkable postwar comebacks of any poverty-level country in history ...

Politics - Google News

home | site map
© 2006