Stem Cell Lectures/Interviews Response

Listen to all Lectures/Interviews and write a response (she didn’t give a page number/limit) at: http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/stemcells/lectures.html

Stem cell research today stands as potentially one of the most promising fields of scientific study, yet it is also one of the most heavily debated. The online lectures of panelists discussing stem cells explore this reality thoroughly. Stem cell research is in conflict with some of our societal norms and beliefs; Many are raising arms in trying to be heard on what they feel are acceptable practices for conducting stem cell research. American culture has largely been Judeo-Christian in its history, which is partly a basis for the contention over the subject. Many Christians and Orthodox Catholics today hold strong and passionate views on the subjects of abortion and the perceived sanctity of human life. Because many stem cells in the past have come from aborted fetuses, there is a heated debate on whether or not it is ethical to obtain samples from a fetus. Traditional Catholic beliefs hold that human life begins at the moment of conception, or when the sperm encounters and fertilizes the egg; Following this logic Catholics by and large tend to hold the position that from that moment onward the fetus is officially a human being.

Stem cell research, like any other research field, inevitably presents a potential for abuse to occur during research (i.e. GMOs); In spite of this, it would defy logic to declare this area of research to be of no worth investigating. The potential for unethical research has been somewhat addressed in the policy world, for example, with the UN Declaration on Human Cloning. This international policy in effect places a ban on any and all forms of human cloning. My opinion of the whole issue is that what is being seen in action are the counter-productive effects of prohibition. It cannot be argued that stem-cell research can potentially bring about many new helpful discoveries, but what is used to counter this claim is a question of at what cost?. On the global level, the US stands somewhat behind in this field of science. The United States on the map shown was effectively orange in classification, or that policy is a Restrictive Compromise, which means that we are more prohibitive than permissive. The restriction on stem cell research has actually created a rampant black market of therapeutic treatments. In fact many international websites lay claims to being able to cure almost any disease of ailment in existence; This is both shocking and somewhat expected. It lowers the spirit to see humans act in such ways, but people are also desperately suffering from sicknesses and demanding answers to their quests for relief.

It would be a very detailed –oriented, and at times, slow process to find a stable intersection for the realms of science and public policy for this issue, yet changes need to be made to improve the current situation. One possibility would be to hold policy conventions across the nation and invite the public to participate actively. This though would require extensive planning and efforts to insure that these are conducted in a fair, equitable, and rational manor and take into consideration the vested interests of participants.