Does anybody really know why stem cell research is illegal?
486088
Stem cell research is NOT illegal. \nIt is just not AS WELL sponsored by the government as it can be.\nGovernment only sponsors research on the already existing cell lines. In fact Federal government spent $607 last year on funding stem cell research.[1]\n\nIN addition, private Companies like Merck, or Pfizer and private Universities are free to do their OWN research with any kind of cells they like.
1129900
Some people just need to fight something, for a lack of a better purpose in life.\n\nFoetus and stem cell research can allow to re-grow damaged/amputed organs or maybe even entire limbs.
568876
In some countries, it does.  It is illegal to do this in some places.  In China, some experimental spinal cord therapy is being done with aborted fetus stem cells.  There are other sources of stem cells which are used when using abortions is illegal.
719674
It is. The area of dispute is public funding vs. private funding. Currently only adult stem cells and a few fetal stem cell lines, most of which are unusable, are allowed to be used by firms with public funding.\n\nThe problem with the embryonic stem cell research debate is that too many people equate it with abortion. For years, publicly-funded researchers have been trying to use embryos from fertility clinics. The way the current law is, the ones that are not implanted in a woman are discarded - thrown in the trash. I see this as unethical. Why discard them when they can be used on possibly life-saving research? Who supports embryonic stem-cell research? People as diverse as Michael J Fox, Nancy Reagan, Curt Shilling, Muhammad Ali, Arlen Specter, and my father, who passed 4 years ago from Lou Gherigs disease.\n\nI feel it is unethical to discard something that could potentially save lives simply because of misinformation.\n\nPluripotent stem cells, those from embryos, are able to develop into all the different types of cells in the body and multiply rapidly. \n\nAdult stem cells, or multipotent stem cells, that could give rise to all cell and tissue types have not yet been found. Adult stem cells are often present in only minute quantities and can therefore be difficult to isolate and purify. There is also evidence that they may not have the same capacity to multiply as embryonic stem cells do. Also, adult stem cells may contain more DNA abnormalities—caused by sunlight, toxins, and errors in making more DNA copies during the course of a lifetime. These potential weaknesses limit the usefulness of adult stem cells.\n\nThere is a really good paper on this at The Michael J Fox Foundation website called "Q&A Embryonic Stem Cells; Exploding the Myth" (see link)
84718
Bush has banned it because they get stem cells from aborted fetuses. However, there will always be abortion, legal or illegal. Why not use the cells.
827911
If you want actual facts, Planned Parenthood, is your best bet.  The best place for basic stem cell facts is the Christopher Reeve Foundation.\n\nForget that abortiontv.com site.  It's completely right-wing religious based with a lot on inaccurate information.
609684
Yes you are right. Stem cell research has many useful ramifications.
724333
<<The only positive results have come from adult stem cell research!>>\n\nAre you a Scientist?  And why should I believe you and ignore numerous Nobel Laureates?\n\nThink twice, speak once.
976097
stem cell research is good, per se, but it is unfortunate that sensationalism has turned the debate so that people think that it is some automatic holy grail that cures all diseases
814963
Yes.  Governments fund all sorts of medical research projects as it is, so why not allow stem cell research to be a part of that?   \n\nIf you say "no" to stem cell research funded by governments because of tax money being spent as the issue (and not an objection because of moral grounds), then you should just say "no" to all research medical research by governments.  In this case, the issue appears to be that taxes should not be used for government funded medical research.  I think it extremely short-sighted.
520604
i dont' suggest it. do you want to use stem cells to help yourself when they had to kill babies to get it? i wouldn't. i'm sorry for your MS though. truly.
359710
It's not so much the acutal medical risks, but the ehtical and moral implications of conducting research in the field.\n\nThe following is an excerpt from a research paper I recently wrote concerning stem cell research:\n\nEmbryonic stem cell research raises immense ethical and religious concern:\nThe issue of research involving stem cells derived from human embryos is increasingly the subject of a national debate and dinner table discussions. The issue is confronted every day in laboratories as scientists ponder the ethical ramifications of their work. It is agonized over by parents and many couples as they try to have children or to save children already born. The issue is debated within the church, with people of different faiths- even many of the same faith- coming to different conclusions. Many people are finding the more they know about stem cell research, the less certain they are about the right ethical and moral conclusions. (“Bush Embryonic Stem Cell Decision” 1)\nQuite often, the status of an embryo is debated among scientists, politicians, theologians, philosophers, and even everyday people. There are many ideas circulating the globe as some vie to protect the embryo and others hope to use it to benefit society. Those that oppose stem cell research claim that the methods scientists use are not morally justifiable. Human embryos, in their minds, are “not mere biological tissues or clusters of cells; they are the tiniest of human beings” (Espejo 49). According to the Human Embryo Research Panel and the National Bioethics Commission, the embryo should be considered a living organism from its earliest stages (Espejo 46-50). People therefore claim that scientists are alienating the rights of living human beings by performing experiments on embryos: \nThe painful lessons of the past should have taught us that human beings must not be conscripted for research without their permission- no matter what the alleged justification- especially when that research means the forfeiture of their health or lives. Even if an individual’s death is believed to be otherwise imminent, we still do not have a license to engage in lethal experimentation- just as we may not experiment on death row prisoners or harvest their organs without their consent. (Espejo 49)\nThe widespread Christian view that life begins at the moment of conception has caused many to believe that the destruction of the human embryo is murder (Espejo 4). People also believe that is irrelevant whether the embryos are capable of implanting in a uterus and developing, as they are embryos nonetheless (Morris 2). As Morris questions, “are we willing to recognize life, even if it’s living in a Petri dish?” (2). Those that sympathize with these concerns feel that research requiring the destruction of a human embryo should be banned. Others argue that since IVF procedures often generate more embryos than needed, the excess embryos should be used for potentially life-saving research rather than being discarded (Espejo 36-37). Also, they claim embryos do not have the same rights as adult humans. The suggestion that a mass of 50-100 cells with no heart and no brain is entitled to the same protections is “unprecedented and not embodied in American law” (Espejo 38). With this in mind, it seems that embryonic stem cell research should not be undermined by the aforementioned arguments. There are additional concerns however. The use of SCNT is often criticized by those opposed to cloning, as a majority of people view cloning as morally wrong.  SCNT has been used in reproductive cloning, such as the cloning of Dolly the sheep. In the public’s mind, the distinction between this form of cloning and therapeutic cloning, which involves SCNT used for medical purposes, has blurred. The two should not be confused however, as they are completely separate procedures. Outlawing the use of SCNT would prevent the development of very promising techniques for curing disease
1063970
Its more of misinformation. Unfortunately people assume that we can only get stem cells from aborted fetuses; the blatently ignore the fact that you can remove embryonic stem cells with out hurting the fetus.\n\nIts stupidity.
472005
You know, most people try to avoid controversial subjects. Something controversial is stem cell research, if you ask me.
976355
How about the fake cloning (see below): you could cover how other scientists were conned - and how it impacts science and research.\n\nScientists fretted Friday that a spectacular cloning fraud that hid in plain sight has set back legitimate stem cell work around the world. \nCloning experts and stem cell scientists said research in the potentially revolutionary field of regenerative medicine will continue unabated. But they said public confidence in their work had been weakened by a sham branded by experts as the most visible case of scientific fraud they could recall.\n\nScientists also struggled to explain how they didn't earlier catch the charismatic South Korean veterinarian's claim in a Science paper published in May that he cloned 11 human embryos to produce stem cells.\n\n"That's a difficult one,'' said Keith Campbell, the University of Nottingham researcher who helped clone Dolly the sheep in 1997. "Scientists are asked to referee a lot of papers and to a certain extent we have to believe each other as to the validity of the data.''\n\nA disgraced Hwang Woo-suk resigned from Seoul National University on Friday after the school said the researcher fabricated groundbreaking cloning and stem-cell research that had raised hopes of new cures for hard-to-treat diseases.\n\nWhen Hwang published findings in February 2004 and again in May, it was believed he had developed a new cloning method that enabled him to accomplish something no one else had.\n\nHwang chalked up much of the success to South Korean government support and dedicated researchers working around the clock. He also credited his workers' dexterity with chopsticks; stem cell researchers visited from around the world and rushed back to their labs to try the new technique.
374875
For embyronic stem cell:\nit will provide many cures for possibly many diseases and conditions such as diabetes and paralysis, it has proven to be effective so far and can better the lives of many, it is the cutting edge of modern medicine\n\nAgainst:\nThere are other methods of stem cell research using adult stem cells that won't use embryos at all, many believe that killing the embryos just for their stem cells is not moral, the eventual result of stem cell research could be overcrowding due to increased life span for many and/or cloning which is an issue that is also very controversial
928810
NO WAY.  Morality is used to push things on us like gun control, environmental policies, animal rights, etc.  SCREW THAT, I'm tired of these fascist "liberal" weenies forcing their views down our throats.\n\nLove jack\n\nPS HAHAHA, stem cell could have saved "billions of people" - what a laugh.  Are you sayhing that all 6 billion people on earth will now DIE because of Bush?\n\nStem cell research is still continuing.  The government just doesn't want to fund research that uses human embryos or fetuses.