Since the last decade, medical advancements have become more popular throughout the world. In today’s society the most controversial medical advancements is the stem cells and stem cell research and the ethics problems that follow it. However, stem cells were starting to get viewed as the foundation for human life in the mid 1800s. But it was not until the 20th century, when scientists in Europe first discovered that stem cells were in fact the source of all bloods cells. In 1998, stem cells used to regenerate damaged organs became possible, which James Thomas at the University of Wisconsin and John Gearhart grew the first human embryonic stem cells. This is what the first seed of controversy on the topic stem cells were planted.
According to the National Institutes of Health, stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during the early life and growth. Stem cells also serve as a sort of internal repair system in many tissues, when dividing essentially without limited to replenish other cells as long as the human being is still alive. But when stem cells divides, each new cell has the potential either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell. There are several different types of stem cells. One type of stem cells is embryonic stem cells, which during the early stages of embryonic development the cells remain relatively undifferentiated (immature) and appears to posses the ability to differentiate into almost any tissue within the body. In the early embryonic stage are totipotent (fertilized egg) and can become any type of body cell. But after about seven days, when the zygote forms a structure known as a blastocyst (inner cells give rise to the entire body of the organism such as heart, lungs, skin and other tissue), which contains a mass of cells that eventually become the fetus. Another type of stem cells is fetal stem cells, which the embryo is referred to as a fetus after the eighth week of development. The fetus contains stem cells that are pluripotent (produce any type of cell in the body) and develop into the different body tissues in the fetus. Another type of stem cells is adult stem cells, which is that can replace cells that die or restore tissues after injury. Skin, muscle, intestine and bone marrow, for example, each contain their own stem cells. These adult stem cells are tissues-specific, meaning scientists found in given tissue in our bodies and generate the mature cell types within that particular tissue or organ. Another type of stem cells, which is peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs), can be isolated from a drawn blood sample. The blood stem cells are capable of giving rise to a very large number of very different cells that make up the blood and immune system, that includes blood cells (carry oxygen around the body), platelets ( cell fragments that stop a person from bleeding and help the body to clot and heals cuts), granulocytes ( types of white blood cell that help fight bacterial infection), and lymphocytes (type of white blood cells that is a part of the immune system and also may be involved in protection against cancer). All of these very different cells with very different functions are derived from a common, ancestral, committed blood-forming hematopoietic stem cell (cannot give rise to the cells of very different tissue, such as nerve cells in the brain). Another type of stem cells is umbilical cord stem cells, which is the blood from the newborn umbilical cord contains some stem cells. Umbilical cord blood is often banked, or stored for possible future use should the individual require stem cell therapy. Another type of stem cells is induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were the first created for human cells in 2007. These are adult cells that have been genetically converted to embryonic stem cells. iPSCs are valuable aids in the study of disease development and drug treatment and they may have future uses in transplantation medicine.
Many people are very upset with only one of the six types of stem cells, which are the human embryonic stem cells. The discovery, isolation, and culturing of human embryonic stem cells has been described as one of the most significant breakthroughs in biomedicine of the century. The most basic ethic problem of the human embryonic stem cells is that the possibility of destructive embryo. With the destructive embryo it comes with moral problems and principle also. Two fundamental more principles is the prevention or alleviation of suffering, and the other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. In the article Old and New ethics in Stem Cell Debate by Richard Doerflinger states that the human embryo is a human being within the first week of development before implantation. He also states with a simple facts of science that “A zygote is the beginning of a new human life.” and “The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history or ontogeny, of the individual.” According to this article by the CRS Report for Congress, “Human life begins at conception and that is never an acceptable reason for intentionally taking an innocent human life.” People are trying to make the argument that a fertilized egg in the laboratory is a new human being with rights and moral and legal status of fully born persons. According to John Robertson states that they see destruction of embryos is like abortion a fetus as murder. But on the other side see the embryo as too rudimentary in development to have interest or rights and thus should not be protected at the cost of legitimate and important scientific research. This debate on whether the embryo a person or not will keep on going for years to come.
According Mr. Doerflinger states that many ethicists refine this “personhood” theory. This “personhood” theory states the qualities and abilities usually claimed as indicators of personhood. They are found in some human beings and not others, found more intensely or obviously in some than others, and within one human being’s life they are found at some times and not others. It’s also states that that should the qualities admit degrees, which should personhood be a matter of degree as well. This refine of “personhood” theory goes on and states that it is the divide between simple humanity and personhood is valid, with basic rights belonging only to the latter, then the traditional idea of inherent and unalienable human rights is dead. And continue to talks about how the unborn humans are not persons, and then some born humans are person either. Well an ethicist Peter Singer states saying his famous or infamous statement that a pig has a greater claim on personhood than a human infant with disabilities. Mr. Dan Brock has written that severely demented patients “lack personhood” and in some respect “are even worse off than animals such as horses and dogs, who have a capacity for integrated and goal directed behavior that the severely demented substantially lacked.”.
Despite these ethical debate and controversies that has roiled the field, the science has made much progress though it undoubtedly has been slowed by the reluctance in the United States to fund the research with new cells lines. There would also be new challenges which would arise as ESC (embryo stem cells) based treatments are tested on a wider basis and come to accept as safe and effective treatment for many medical situations. A major challenge will be to ensure that they are available to patients of all means, which mean the health care would have a new reform health care policy. Of course, many indications would may have significant cost advantages. They will be available to persons who have health insurance or who qualify for Medicare or Medicaid or other public health programs.
Even though this big problem of a controversy about embryo stem cells has not came to agreement whether the embryo is a person or not. Steve Usdin says “Ethical judgments about the use of embryonic stem cells in research and therapies flow from the status accorded to the embryo. Those who feel that an embryo is a human being, or should be treated as one because it has the potential to become a person, contend that it is unethical to do anything to an embryo that could not be done to a person. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some people have expressed the view that the embryo is nothing more than a ball of cells that can be treated in a manner similar to tissues used in transplantation”
References
Doerflinger, R. M. (2010). Old and New Ethics in the Stem Cell Debate. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(2), 212-219.
Lo, B., & Parham, L. (2010). Resolving Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Clinical Trials: The Example of Parkinson Disease. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(2), 257-266.
Streiffer, R. (2008). INFORMED CONSENT and FEDERAL FUNDING for STEM CELL RESEARCH. Hastings Center Report, 38(3), 40-47.
Meslin, E. M. (2000). Of Clones, Stem Cells, and Children: Issues and Challenges in Human Research Ethics. Journal of Women's Health & Gender-Based Medicine, 9(8), 831-841.
Taylor, P.L. (2005). The Gap between Laws an Ethics in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Overcoming the effect of U.S. Federal Policy on Research Advances and Public Benefit. Science and Engineering Ethics, 11(4), 589-616
Robertson, J. A. (2010). Embryo Stem Cell Research: Ten Years of Controversy. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(2), 191-203.
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