The Hoopla Over Stem Cells

Stem cell research is a topic that as of late has been about as heated as a sauna. When discussing the subject of stem cell research, issues such as ethics and progress are always apparent, and two sides are always taken. Some believe stem cell research is exciting and revolutionary. Others see it as horrid and barbaric. However, the fact of the matter is that stem cell research is as necessary to medicine as breathing is to humans. It is the foundation of a building, the base of the pyramid, and without it, everything crumbles. Stem cell research must be advocated in the US because it can cure countless diseases, can prolong life, and can even reduce or eliminate the need for human and animal testing.

Disease can ravage the body like a rabid wolverine. From Multiple Sclerosis to Diabetes, everyday seems like a new opportunity for one of nearly three hundred million Americans to contract a fatal disease. Stem cell research is essential to putting the breaks on this statistic. As shown in Source B, stem cells are more than 50% effective in helping those plagued by neurological disorders such as Leukemia and Parkinson's disease. The buck does not stop there, as the graph shows nine disorders that stem cells can be used to treat. Furthermore, "scientists at Harvard developed motor neurons from a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease" (Source C). Great strides have already been made to treating innumerable diseases, and the plug cannot be pulled on such success. Stem cells are the type of thing that can take a person out of a wheelchair and allow them to walk across a hall. Nothing but good can come out of stem cell research. In the dark life of many who are riddled by disease, stem cells are the ever-shining light of hope.

Additionally, the average life expectancy in America is about seventy eight years old. Stem cells, however, open a new window of opportunity in extending this number. By simply placing immature cells where needed and watching them adapt and flourish, a person can live months or even years longer. Although many see the use of stem cells as unethical due to the fact that they are removed from embryos, this is not always the case. In fact, stem cells can be made "without using politically ethically charged embryos at all" (Source C). The worries over whether or not stem cell research is immoral can finally be put aside. Even with the use of embryonic stem cells, they can be extracted "leaving the embryo itself intact and developing" (Source F). If this is all it takes to lengthen the life of a person, the efforts must be taken to do so. Although it can take only minutes to put stem cells into use, the effects they have are lasting. Stem cells can give a young girl more time to spend with her grandfather, or more time to a son who barely knew his dad. Stem cells, as powerful as they may be, cannot put such things into motion unless research of them is advocated in the United States.

Stem cell research is such an incredible medical feat that it not only extends its helping hands out to people, but to animals as well. The use of embryonic stem cells may lead to "improved pharmaceutical drug testing" (Source D) and would render animals such as rats and dogs unnecessary for such horrid experimentation. Even humans that partake in this form of research would not be needed. The number of animals killed because of testing errors would slowly whittle down with the use of stem cells. They are a great alternative to the billions of dollars it takes just to put a drug on the market. However, funding for stem cell research is limited, and progress has been stymied. Stem cell research is not only vital to the development of medicine, but to the development of life itself. The use of immature cells is as helpful as a volunteer worker, and therefore must be supported.

In conclusion, stem cell research is a division of medicine that can revolutionize the world. Whether for humans or animals, it is a win-win situation. Lives are saved, prolonged, and preserved. The scale of opportunity clearly tips in the favor of stem cells, but this is not enough. To deny stem cell use is to deny life, a truly ruthless act. Without stem cells, the number of deaths from disease and drug testing will only continue to rise. Stem cells are the only way to limit these numbers. Every cell can work its magic if and only if it is given the opportunity. Stem cells are like singing angels, and we can only learn and benefit from them if we listen.

SOURCE B:

"Stem Cells-Can we rebuild Humans?" Diseases SCs can be used to treat. 4 June 2006. ed.ac.uk/studentweb /session6/11/survey.htm>SOURCE C:

Dimos, John. Stem Cells: Brave New World. New York: TIME Inc, 2008.

SOURCE D: Knight, Matthew. Stem cells could end

animal testing. London, England: CNN, 2008

SOURCE F: Park, Alice. The Year in Medicine. New York: TIME Inc, 2007.