The Tomahawk is a place for students of 10th grade Honors English at Wetumpka High School to gather, discuss, reflect on, and connect to, relevant issues in American Literature.
Monday, February 9, 2009
3. To what extent should embryonic stem cell research be used to improve the quality of human life?
To what extent should embryonic stem cell research be used to improve the quality of human life?
What is research? It is the search for knowledge of an idea or concept. Our country is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, and all the things that we can accomplish are incredible. However, I believe that with great power comes great responsibility, and that people can get distorted and spoiled with having the power that we have acquired through strenuous research and technology. Embryonic stem cell research is a new way of testing human cells for cures for new diseases that inhabit the human body research. Though this is a fantastic new form of scientific research, it has its flaws. Human embryonic stem cells are a type of cell that can be coaxed into forming all 220 types of cells in the human body (i.e. brain cells, nerve cells, blood cells, etc.). They are taken from an embryo in a process that causes death to the embryo. The research is used to help find cures for horrible, life-stealing diseases and cloning research. I believe that the research is okay, as long as the embryos used are the products of miscarriages or stillbirths and are in embryonic banks, they consider all other options, and there is absolutely no cloning involved whatsoever. Embryos are living human beings with individual, unique DNA codes, and cells. Some people don’t consider them human being, which is another topic of argument altogether, and so they get rid of the embryo by abortion. Some of these embryos are donated to embryo/fertilization banks and are used for research. Another way that embryos are donated is through miscarriages or stillbirths. I do not at all support supporting abortion in order to perform research on unborn fetuses, which is the shedding of innocent blood in the name of science. I do believe in using stillborn babies or miscarriages to use for research, as well as other ways: umbilical cord blood, fat tissue, and bone marrow. I believe that the use of embryos should be the last resort when testing stem cells. I am firmly against using human embryos for cloning research. It is like people are using all that power that new discoveries and modern technology have given us and trying to play God. We are each made with our own identity, and using embryos to clone is like stripping someone of their entire personality and uniqueness. Stem cell research is a good thing, until you start trying to make a bunch of the same person. How would life be if everyone was smart, or could sing, or extremely athletic? Our value of human life would dramatically decrease, because if a person lost his or her life it wouldn’t matter; every single person would be the same. I believe that embryonic stem cell research is a great thing that our modern technology enables us to do. However, I also believe that people, vulnerable and selfish, can abuse the power that is given to them by the technology that we have acquired. Aborted fetuses should not be aborted for or used for stem cell research. The only babies that should be used are the ones from miscarriages or stillborns. I do not support the cloning of human fetuses. In the words of Whorton the Elephant, “A person’s a person’ no matter how small!”
The Limit of Embryonic Stem Cell Research How far should stem cell research go? That is one of the questions that politicians have been debating about ever since its conception. Some want to take the research as far as it can go. Others demand a limit that no one should go past. The view on this issue is as clouded as a hurricane. Stem cells are not like red-blood cells or skin cells that have specific jobs. On their own, they are useless. However, stem cells can change into any other cell, such as muscle cells, brain cells, etc. These cells are like tiny repair kits that change into what cell that they are most needed. The main reason for stem cell research is to grow organs that can are compatible to the person who needs them. For example, if a person’s kidney collapses, doctors can take stem cells from that person, program the cells to become kidney cells, and transplant the new kidney into that person. This would greatly reduce the need for organ donors and save many others who are waiting for a transplant. Those with rare blood types also get a chance to live without worrying about needing an organ transplant. However, stem cell research has led to another issue; cloning. In 1996, a sheep named Dolly was successfully cloned. This success became an issue with the idea of human cloning. Many were unsure of the idea of having humans cloned for any reason. One reason was that the human clones today (identical siblings) are not all the same. Stem cell research should stop with just the growth of needed organs. Human cloning will not solve any problems. Every person has their own unique personality that cannot be replicated. Regrowing organs is fine, but no one should be replicated for any reason.
What is research? It is the search for knowledge of an idea or concept. Our country is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, and all the things that we can accomplish are incredible. However, I believe that with great power comes great responsibility, and that people can get distorted and spoiled with having the power that we have acquired through strenuous research and technology. Embryonic stem cell research is a new way of testing human cells for cures for new diseases that inhabit the human body research. Though this is a fantastic new form of scientific research, it has its flaws.
ReplyDeleteHuman embryonic stem cells are a type of cell that can be coaxed into forming all 220 types of cells in the human body (i.e. brain cells, nerve cells, blood cells, etc.). They are taken from an embryo in a process that causes death to the embryo. The research is used to help find cures for horrible, life-stealing diseases and cloning research. I believe that the research is okay, as long as the embryos used are the products of miscarriages or stillbirths and are in embryonic banks, they consider all other options, and there is absolutely no cloning involved whatsoever.
Embryos are living human beings with individual, unique DNA codes, and cells. Some people don’t consider them human being, which is another topic of argument altogether, and so they get rid of the embryo by abortion. Some of these embryos are donated to embryo/fertilization banks and are used for research. Another way that embryos are donated is through miscarriages or stillbirths. I do not at all support supporting abortion in order to perform research on unborn fetuses, which is the shedding of innocent blood in the name of science. I do believe in using stillborn babies or miscarriages to use for research, as well as other ways: umbilical cord blood, fat tissue, and bone marrow. I believe that the use of embryos should be the last resort when testing stem cells.
I am firmly against using human embryos for cloning research. It is like people are using all that power that new discoveries and modern technology have given us and trying to play God. We are each made with our own identity, and using embryos to clone is like stripping someone of their entire personality and uniqueness. Stem cell research is a good thing, until you start trying to make a bunch of the same person. How would life be if everyone was smart, or could sing, or extremely athletic? Our value of human life would dramatically decrease, because if a person lost his or her life it wouldn’t matter; every single person would be the same.
I believe that embryonic stem cell research is a great thing that our modern technology enables us to do. However, I also believe that people, vulnerable and selfish, can abuse the power that is given to them by the technology that we have acquired. Aborted fetuses should not be aborted for or used for stem cell research. The only babies that should be used are the ones from miscarriages or stillborns. I do not support the cloning of human fetuses. In the words of Whorton the Elephant, “A person’s a person’ no matter how small!”
The Limit of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
ReplyDeleteHow far should stem cell research go? That is one of the questions that politicians have been debating about ever since its conception. Some want to take the research as far as it can go. Others demand a limit that no one should go past. The view on this issue is as clouded as a hurricane.
Stem cells are not like red-blood cells or skin cells that have specific jobs. On their own, they are useless. However, stem cells can change into any other cell, such as muscle cells, brain cells, etc. These cells are like tiny repair kits that change into what cell that they are most needed.
The main reason for stem cell research is to grow organs that can are compatible to the person who needs them. For example, if a person’s kidney collapses, doctors can take stem cells from that person, program the cells to become kidney cells, and transplant the new kidney into that person. This would greatly reduce the need for organ donors and save many others who are waiting for a transplant. Those with rare blood types also get a chance to live without worrying about needing an organ transplant.
However, stem cell research has led to another issue; cloning. In 1996, a sheep named Dolly was successfully cloned. This success became an issue with the idea of human cloning. Many were unsure of the idea of having humans cloned for any reason. One reason was that the human clones today (identical siblings) are not all the same.
Stem cell research should stop with just the growth of needed organs. Human cloning will not solve any problems. Every person has their own unique personality that cannot be replicated. Regrowing organs is fine, but no one should be replicated for any reason.