The Conflict Between Medical Potential And Ethical Objections

Stem Cell Research: A Conflict Between Medical Potential and Ethical Objections In 2011, 23 year old Katie Sharify was involved in an automobile accident that damaged her spine, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. Katie’s medical team proposed an experimental approach to her therapy using stem cell research, in which stem cells taken from a 5 day old embryo could be converted into cells used for communication between the brain and body. Seeing the glimmer of hope, Katie accepted. However, the funding was cut shortly after her treatment, and all of the hope she had been clinging to was seemingly lost. Three years and a 14.3 million dollar grant later, however, the research she had participated in was deemed safe and enabled to†¦show more content†¦Research regarding each type of stem cell gives way to a moral conflict for many people. In particular, there is much controversy surrounding the advancements and use of the human embryonic stem cells. This is in large part due to the way they are harvested, as extraction cannot be done by doctors and researchers without killing the embryo. There is also a perceived idea that researchers are playing god. In regard to this moral dilemma, Caulfield and Zarzeczny state While the majority of these technologies do not involve human embryos and may have distinct scientific purposes and advantages, they are nonetheless commonly linked with hESC research in the prevalent discourse. In other words, despite the fact that stem cell research only involves a small percentage of hESC in the grand scheme and also offers many advantages, people tend to be focused on the morality involving the use of hESC, possibly blinding them to all of the potential positive advantages of the other forms of stem cell research. One might consider the question If the use of hESC s causes such a hindrance on this developing technology, why not omit research on these particular stem cells and move forward with ones which don t require the destruction of an embryo?. Although this may seem like the obvious answer, the