You
probably have heard the term “stem cells”. Nowadays, it is mentioned on TV,
newspapers and internet quite often since this kind of cells are said to be the
possible “cure” for many diseases. For the ones who do not know, a stem cell is
a “neutral” cell which is able to grow within any other specialized cell. So,
when a specialized cell, e.g. a skin cell, is damaged or missing, a stem cell
could repair or replace it.
Two
categories of stem cells can be identified: “embryonic” and “adult”. Basically,
the “embryonic” are the ones found in an embryo when it is just a few days old.
The “adult” stem cells are neutral cells found in tissues and organs. The
problem is that this type of cells is not as versatile and obtainable as
embryonic stem cells; therefore, they may not be really helpful for research.
Although
most of embryonic stem cells are obtained from embryos that develop from eggs
fertilized “in vitro” (and donated for research purposes), religious groups are
against their use since they maintain that human life begins at the moment of conception;
therefore, scientists would be killing potential human lives.
Groups in favor allege that life starts just
when there’s activity registered in the brain (20 weeks approximately after
conception). Furthermore, embryos need
to be transferred into a woman’s uterus in order to develop into a person.
Is an early embryo a real person? Or should we care more about the possible
treatments that could be developed from this kind of research?
Where life begins is the mosts controversial issue during the past ten years. Abortion, contraceptive pills, the day after pill, and now stem cell research have become controversial because scientists haven't been able to agree on where life begins. I personally don't believe that an early embryo can be considered a future person, because I don't think life starts right after the conception, besides these embryos are not even in a woman's body.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. In fact, in-vitro embryos cannot be considered as persons since they are just undeveloped cells which destiny is decided by scientists.
Delete