The Never-Ending Stem Cell Debate
The advances in medical research have always given rise to huge and never-ending debates. Various socio-economic and political issues come in between the advances of medical research. One such recent and the most memorable debate took place in the United States, in the regime of former President George W. Bush.
Political aspect of stem cell debate:
The stem cell debate gathered momentum when President Bush banned Government funding for embryonic stem cell research and appointed doctors, lawyers and ethicists into a committee on bioethics to advise him on stem cells, cloning and other ethical matters. The stem cell debate turned ethical when it centered on research involving the usage and destruction of human embryos. Various Religious Conservatives argued that use of stem cells involved the destruction of fertilized eggs and human embryos in the initial stages of development. They gave another face to the stem cell debate and equated it to crime and abortion. Moreover, the stem cell debate took a U-turn when current US President, Barack Obama separated state from science and lifted the Bush administration’s ban on embryonic stem cell research.
Scientific aspect of stem cell debate:
Then, there was the scientific stem cell debate, which questioned the efficiency of the stem cell research and their use. Many anti-stem cell research activists tried to twist and twirl the stem cell debate in one way or the other. Some wanted the researchers to focus on other less controversial means of killing these vital cells but were rebuked severely by scientists.
Many people in the US argued that stem cells cannot be differentiated to become liver or blood cells but scientists claimed that stem cells could be differentiated into whatever type of cell that is needed to cure the organ. In addition, there was a huge uproar on from where do scientists get these cells but the dust settled down when a vast majority of scientists claimed that the stem cells used in the research came from the disposed and excessive embryos that were stored in the in-vitro fertilization clinics. Scientists also claimed that a huge chunk of these cells came through donation of unneeded embryos from parents who did not wished to have more children.
However, the stem cell debate took a new turn when scientists silenced pro-life activists. They exacted the skills of pulling out stem cells from aborted fetuses with the consent from women patients who independently wanted to terminate their pregnancy.
Science is virtual answer for the stem cell debate:
Beyond the political and scientific debates surrounding stem cells, there lies a huge amount of scientific dubious distinction. Can scientists develop stem cells for transplants, which do not let off the immune attack from the new host? Can scientists use stem cells to eradicate the need for human subjects in chemotherapy? No one knows the answer to these questions and hence the stem cell debate will continue to be a mootable question in the medical fraternity unless and until Science and Scientific advances give answers to these questions.
No related posts.
