Why are you for or against stem cell research?

Question

Please explain your reasoning and provide any proof if you have.

Answer 1

How can you be against research? The only outcome benefits society.

The arguments are not about stem cell research, but about particular kinds of research. Some people believe that fertilized eggs left over from invitro fertilization at clinics, should be incinerated, rather than used for research. That's just a waste of material that might benefit society.

Religious fanatics claim that using these cells in research is the destruction of a life. But actually, the women that own the cells will either have them destroyed (burned as medical waste) or send them to a research project. There is absolutely NO chance of them ever being implanted in a woman and growing into a baby.

I don't think anyone opposes other forms of stem cell research (adult, placental, etc).

Answer 2

I am opposed to funding stem cell research on discarded embryos. I support other types of stem cell research.

Say we discover that we can cure every disease under the sun with transfusions from non-cloned human embryos? Where are we going to get all of the embryos?

For example: In order to cure "xyz" disease you need a course of 3 treatments. This disease cripples 10,000 Americans a year. (The American Heart Association estimates 71 million Americans have some sort of cardiovascular disease so 10,000 is not a huge number here.)

So where are we going to get these embryos? Will we be creating a market for human embryos? Will we be paying women for their eggs and men for sperm to create embryos to cure paralysis?

This isn't a nutty question. When in vitro fetilization and surrogate motherhood became possible, some people questioned if this would lead to a market for eggs and sperm. Many laughed, after all you can't sell your kidney for a transplant.....but if we fast foward to today you can sell eggs (and some women do---or they "donate" the eggs and receive up to $50,000 or more in compensation**) and you can sell sperm.

So will we accept the farming of human embryos? What if they need to go past the early stage to be useful? At what point do we stop and say "this is not a good idea?"

Meanwhile, there has been incredible progress using adult stem cells and cord blood to ACTUALLY CURE OR TREAT DISEASES AND PROBLEMS as opposed to embryonic stem cells which have (so far) cured nothing.

Cord blood is blood left in the umbilical cord after a baby is born. It used to treat 45 diseases/disorders and counting.

Here's a link to the National Marrow Donor Site:
http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Lrn_about_Disease/index.html

So we know that we can use stem cells from two easy to obtain sources to treat diseases----why invest our limited time, energy and money to try to create a tool that is already morally questionable for some and may become even more questionable in the future?

Personally, I think deliberately creating human embryos to be destroyed and used for medical treatments is vampirism.

Answer 3

According to all I have read or heard, the stem cells that would be used for research are thrown away anyway - so WHY NOT use them to cure horrible diseases, illnesses, conditions, etc.

Answer 4

I am 100% for it. I am diabetic. I have a 95% chance of dying due to diabetes complications, even though I am in perfect control of my diabetes. Stem Cell Research is the ONLY hope I have for a cure.

Answer 5

I'm for it because it helps people and can even save lives. I also think its bad when cells that could be used to help people are thrown instead

Answer 6

I'm all for it. I'm just against the government paying for it. Why should the government pay the bills for some big drug co. that's making too much money now. Let the drug co. pay for their own research!

Answer 7

for it strongly if we can control the fact that demon-cratic politicians will be cloning themselves into infinity before the first good comes to lowly and worthless us. All we are good for is to fall for their lines and vote for them. They never give to the poor or to anything to help anyone medically - never. It is now proven that they will give only tax mony and not one personal dime. Nothing n-o-t-h-i-n-g will be cured as long as they can sell one more pill to make you feel better. did I explain clearly = Nothing

Answer 8

For... Anything that will help any disease to be cured should be tried.

Answer 9

I'm all for it, if it can help...I have NO problem with it.