Forums → WEPR → stem cell research

No basha because its taking away the life of someone that God had a plan for, and its cruel and wicked just like back in the pagan times

@ Basha
You know how vague "stem cell research" is? What type are you talking about? Adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, or embryonic germ cells? Unless we know that, there isnt much of a question.

@ Redbedhead
The scientists using embryonic stem cells are using them for the betterment of the human race. They arent trying to be cruel or wicked. They are sacrificing a 5-7 day old cluster of cells to help cure things like damages nerves/brains and organs. In the future we could repair someones spine so they could walk again, or regenerate the brain someone who got in a car crash and severly damages their brain so they couldnt ever move/funtion on their own.

If stem cells could be used to cure my OCD, or my grandpa's cancer, I would support it 100%.

Here it is again! An ethical dilemma whether we should kill one of our own for the luxury of restoration for another. What really captures our sympathy when we think about the would-be-child? Is it the future we imagine for it? At the moment, the embryo lacks a personality and wouldn't care --or at least notice-- if it lived or died.
What about the people who are already living? That soldier needs his arm back or would forever be looked as a freak by some and would find some jobs unattainable because of his condition.

Uhh... running out of time, so i'll wrap it up: I support, because my love extends more for the sufferers that are consciously aware of their suffering rather than the ones who are hardly conscious of themselves.

@Salmanius embriotic stem cells

Redbedhead... Isn't everything that happens god's will..? in that case if someone is experimenting with stem cells it's on God's will so it's not wrong.. (As you can see I'm an atheist)

@ Njaard

No. To fundamentalists like redbed, it's God's will if it suits their agenda. If it doesn't, then they have to make "God's will" happen. (BTW, I'm a Christian who obviously hates fundamentalism).

@Njaard

Yes everything is God's will, but we can't just say that everything that is done is right. Think about it, if we had that attitude, Hitler would be ruling most of Europe right now. Much evil (including the murder of innocent babies ie. embryo's) has been done in the past, and it should be stopped.

@thelistman
Stem Cell Research wouldn't be able to cure your OCD because it is not the result of a loss of tissue, stem cells probably wouldn't be able to help your grandfather either, due to the fact that in order for them to be effective, you would have to grow new tissue, cut out the old damaged tissue, and then graft it into your grandfather's body. This would be a very complex and quite frankly dangerous procedure which probably has the same chance of killing your grandfather as it does curing him. Also if the cancer has spread, this procedure would be impossible, but there are different, more viable approaches to curing somebody with cancer that doesn't involve the murder of an innocent human (bacteriophages?). Even then there are other viable ways of getting stem cells, such as the umbilical cord, or baby teeth. If anybody in your family were to have a baby, they could save the stem cells from the placenta, or if you have any smaller children that are losing their baby teeth, the roots of those also contain stem cells. As blood relatives the cells should be compatible. As I mentioned before there are many ways of achieving our goals without killing people.

@Eshploded

While you value cognizance of what is happening to them as your deciding factor, I urge you to consider something else. Potential. I'm sorry to speak in such callous terms, but as humans our lives are insignificant. What matters is the potential that our lives hold. Now it comes to the matter of killing a embryo with an empty slate of potential, which literally has the ability to do anything, or sacrificing a life already in progress. Now I'm all for saving lives (I am studying to be a doctor after all), but I don't really think that cutting off another, especially one with blank potential, is worth it.

I don't get killed if someone takes a stem cell from me.

@Donosld
Stem cells from the plecenta dont have the potential to become near as many of the 220(about) types of human cells. I dont believe that the 5-7 day old cluster of cells is a true "human" yet. I agree with Eshploded. I would rather same someone that is conscious, thinking, and can suffer rather than a same group of cells that cannot think, suffer, and isnt conscious.

@donosld

Actually, OCD is likely caused by a part of the brain. In people with OCD, this tiny part is either "dead" or missing. Stem Cell research, though unlikely, may be able to reproduce that part of the brain. The problem would be getting that part of the brain into my head and making it functional. But you never know.

@redbeadhead, I think it should be legal and God probably didn't have a plan for that organism because he didn't create it. It's man-made.
He did have a plan for stem cell researchers, to save other peoples lives who he also has a plan for.
Also since it is man-made, God will destroy it by fire anyways so whats the problem?
It says it somewhere in Revelations that he'll destroy everything man-made by fire but I am too lazy to look it up.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating. There are many ways of getting stem cells that don't kill an embryo, or use stem cells from embryos that would be killed anyways. (Although, I don't believe an embryo has any rights in and of itself, so I would have no problem with generating embryos to harvest stem cells). Placental blood carries stem cells. When couple go through in vitro fertilization, many embryos are fertilized. Only one is implanted, and the rest are flushed down the drain because we can't use them for stem cells. Good job saving lives there! I didn't even know about the baby teeth thing, which is apparently another source of stem cells.

There's also some perception that nobody uses stem cells now. That is simple not true. Stem cell research occurs widely in Europe and Asia. It even occurs in the US, where the only restrictions are on certain "lines" of stem cells. This is analogous to saying that "Other countries let people drive cars, and you can even drive cars here, but you can only drive pickup trucks". It's senseless to me.

Of course, I don't believe in any god, so religious arguments fail with me.

In short, the possibility of benefit and the lack of any real downside means that we should be PUSHING stem cell research, not trying to stifle it.

do you read minds kane becaue=se that was bacically what I was going to say except shorter

Sadly, stem cells cannot pass on my psychic powers to others