Do embryonic stem cells represent a human life?

Question

why or why not? what are the implications of this?

Answer 1

Does a used prophylactic filled with sperm represent a mall full of people squiggling around as they shop? Does a tomato represent hundreds of cute little tomatoes just waiting to sprout? Does a concept by theologians represent the potential of intelligence? Does a dictionary represent a billion potential conversations and philosophical insights? Does your question represent the potential for as many answers as there are answerers? Do religions represent the potential for coherent superstitions?

Sorry. Didn't mean to just answer your question with more questions. But it's hard to stop. Do you know what I mean?

Answer 2

No. Embryonic stem cells are simply cells that are pluripotent, which means that they still have the ability to become any type of cell. When cells mature into tissue types, they become specialized. Whole portions of their genome shut down and become inaccessible until the cell dies. This is because each cell type has a different function and needs a different group of enzymes to allow them to function properly. Stem cells have not yet shut down and settled into their specialized role yet. because they have not yet specialized, it is thought that they can be used to help patients with diseases that cause the deterioration of specialized cells. When stem cells are surrounded by a cell type, they start to change into that cell type, so it's thought that if you put stem cells into the brain of someone who has a neurodegenerative disease, it will help to regenerate the lost brain tissue.
This is controversial because one of the most easily-available source of embryonic stem cells (aside from an embryo itself [eyew]) is the placenta of a pregnant woman. Pro-lifers believe that if this sort of research is allowed to go forward and become clinical practice, it will make a market for human placentas, and one of the main group of people who might seek to gain a financial advantage from this are women who would get pregnant and go in for abortions so that they could sell their placentas, and do this over and over again. So, the literal answer is no. It by itself is not a life, but pro-life advocates would have you believe that the use of embryonic stem cells equate with the loss of a human life.

Answer 3

Not precisely, embryonic stem cells contain the ability to be 'plastic' or the ability to reshape themselves into various tissues with the correct sequence of genes being activated. ESCs could theoretically give rise to skin for grafts, bone, liver cells, brain tissue, etc. Although the promise is interesting we are a long way off from developing this technology, hence the moral dilemma with using embryonic tissue from fetuses.

Answer 4

Depends on your definition of a human life. They have the "potential" to become a human, but then again, so does culturing any other living cell in your body.
A sticky and controversial issue - liberals will let science decide, conservatives will let religon decide.

Answer 5

An embryo represents a human life. If you kill him/her for his/her stem cells, that represents a human death.

Answer 6

one answer says 'they have the ability to become life' but I'm not in agreement with that. I could be wrong which I have been before but does the ability to 'imitate' or give the impression of life really mean that life exist.

Answer 7

Yes it does. Just read one of the articles located in the links of this site on biotechnology ethics>

http://biotechprogress.blogspot.com/

Answer 8

Only if you are a Republican.