Stem Cell Research
Inorder to fully understand the controversy behind stem cell research, One has to understand what Stem Cells are and what the research involves. By definition Stem Cell are unspecialized cells that give rise to a specific specialized cell, such as a blood cell and they retain the ability to renew themselves through cell division. Stem cells are primal cells common to all multi-cellular organisms.
The three broad categories of stem cells are: embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts(A blastocyst is an early stage embryo - approximately 4 to 5 days old in humans and consisting of 50-150 cells.) , adult stem cells, which are found in adult tissues, and cord blood stem cells, which are found in the umbilical cord, though our main concern is on the embryonic stem cells
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Embryonic Stem Cells requires the destruction of a human embryo.An embryo is a human being and therefore entitled to dignity even if legally slated for destruction. This research practice is a slippery slope to reproductive cloning and tantamount to the instrumentalization of a human being.
"...it is ridiculous for people who have already decided that it is moral to kill babies in the womb to show some squeamishness about destroying human embryos in a petri dish. Hell, man, once you decide to become a child-killer, their ages no longer matter. Or the numbers. Damnation of your soul is completed with the first one."
On 2002-SEP-20 State Senator Deborah V. Ortiz, (D-Sacramento) California, Introduced A bill Bill SB 253 that authorizes the use of stem cells for research, whether the cells are extracted from adults or embryos. It took effect on JAN-1 2003.
The Bill States ".......This bill would declare that the policy of the state shall be that research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells, human embryonic germ cells, and human adult stem cells from any source, including somatic cell nuclear transplantation, shall be permitted, as specified. This bill would require a health care provider delivering fertility treatment to provide his or her patient with specified information. The bill would authorize a donation of a human embryo pursuant to specific requirements and would prohibit the purchase or sale of embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes"
The President's Criteria
On August 9th, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that federal funds may be awarded for research using human embryonic stem cells if the following criteria are met:
: The derivation process (which begins with the destruction of the embryo) was initiated prior to 9:00 P.M. EDT on August 9, 2001.
: The stem cells must have been derived from an embryo that was created for reproductive purposes and was no longer needed.
: Informed consent must have been obtained for the donation of the embryo and that donation must not have involved financial inducements.
Let us all get involved. (Eph. 6:10-12 "Finally draw your strength from the lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God against the tactics of the devil. for our struggle is not with flesh and blood but but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens).
