Stem Cell Research

Do you agree that man should mingle within the realm of stem cell research or not?

I believe we need to have some serious funding and means to better our research. The benefits could very well be nothing short of a true miracle.

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

Just thought I'd post some recent articles on stem cell research.

Connecticut Takes Lead In Stem-Cell Aid

Anger, hope split stem cell issue

Scientists seek diabetes stem-cell key

Yay my home state!

The quote below is exactly how I feel about many things.

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"You have to believe in God before you can say there are things that man was not meant to know. I don't think there's anything man wasn't meant to know. There are just some stupid things that people shouldn't do." -David Cronenberg

and where is the limit? "look but dont touch, touch but dont taste, etc, etc"....

Yes, of course we should do stem cell research. Scientific advance and the pursuit of knowledge is the most important thing for humanity, the ability to discover things sets us apart from all other animals (ok, an octopus can learn to navigate a maze, but it's not in the same league). Using embryos to further the cause of discovey is completely rational and to be honest I think anyone who thinks otherwise is a complete idiot. Science shouldn't be politicised, if we might learn something new we should do it, if we might learn something that can save thousands of lives we should definitely do it. To be honest, however, I have some pretty narrow opinions on just whose lives should be saved, but that's for another discussion.

Where's the limit? That's like looking at the sky and saying how high should we go.

The way I feel is, this planet is already supporting roughly two billion more people than it can support comfortably. Death is just a part of nature, and no matter how many medical advancements we make or ailments we cure, everyone still has to pass away. Impeding that process, I think, is already having serious ramifications.

Well yes, everyone has to die sometime. But you don't have to suffer through life until that end, do you?

No, and of course one potential benefit of stem cell research is alleviating suffering. But like you said, "where's the limit?" I read an article a while back that said something about stem cells having the capacity to prolong human life span by decades, making use of stem cell treatments for common ailments which naturally weather the body. Sure, treating things like Parkinson's Disease and spinal injuries would be fantastic... but who gets to draw the lines? Not to mention the cultivation and study of embryonic stem cells in the wrong hands could very well lead to cloning, which I can't see causing anything other than more problems.

I'm not entirely against stem cell research. But I do think it's quite the slippery slope, and should be tread with caution. At some point, scientists have to decide whether they're utilizing scientific discovery responsibly, or whether they're playing God.

What are some of these ailments you speak of?

And when it comes to playing god, man has done a fairly good job of that already. Wouldn't you agree?

Well, here's one example:

This website states that "it may become possible to generate healthy heart muscle cells in the laboratory and then transplant those cells into patients with chronic heart disease." That would be quite the beneficial advancement for many. However, if healthy heart muscle cells could be generated from this, what's to say that in the not-too-distant-future, people will be able to have these kinds of transplants after each and every heart attack... or perhaps even as often as they go to the chiropractor? Unrealistic now, perhaps, but impossible? And what sorts of effects might this have?

All I'm saying is, there's a reason why things are the way they are in nature. Hurricanes are, from the human perspective, terrible killers. But from a natural perspective, they alleviate drought, shuffle fertile soils up to the surface, carry seeds, flush out waste waters, balance tropical heat, and provide scores of other ecological benefits. Should it always be about us?

Yep. Now, to what degree of benefit has this 'job' of playing God accomplished? Has it been more beneficial than detrimental? I tend to lean toward the latter - perhaps I'm just a cynic - but we seem to be overstepping the boundaries of this thread.

I think the debate over stem cell usage exists in part because, in the minds of its proponents, the act itself is largely abstract. It's something that takes place in a lab far away, performed by a faceless scientist you'll never meet, and does away with a group of cells too small to see. I do not mean to imply that everyone who supports stem cell research does so for this reason alone, but I think there should be little doubt that this makes that belief easier to stomach, especially among those who hold a more casual opinion of the situation.

How many times have we seen it in movies (to use a topical example)? Some bad guy robs or kills with impunity from guilt until they come face-to-face with the victims of their actions, at which point their conscience is wrought, and they almost inevitably reform. If there are any "victims" of stem cell research (a debatable point, I'll admit), they're ones we'll never have to see. Any thought-out opinion on the matter, I think, has to try to take this into account, much in the same way any opponent of stem cell research has to visualize the diseases that might have been alleviated by it.

All that said, I have strong doubts that the research is promising enough to justify straddling (and possibly crossing) the line from medical science to methodical sacrifice. Even if what's being proposed at the moment is on the acceptable side of that line, we have to ask ourselves if it will stop there. If the research is wildly successful, I find it difficult to believe that a great many people will not be tempted to go further into human development to see what that yields. And if the research isn't so successful, well, then it likely wasn't worthwhile to begin with.

Now, it is entirely possible that society will impose reasonable limits on itself that stop short of the horrors of "harvesting" underdeveloped humans and their organs for the benefit of the living, but make no mistake, that will become an issue if stem cell research becomes a common (and successful) practice.

The question is threefold, then, at the very least: will the research be particularly useful, is the practice moral, and if it is, will it stay that way?

We must avoid at all costs the illusion that we're more important than other generations merely because we happen to exist at this moment in time.

There's always going to be limits to what we [mankind] do. I think that's because we want to have limits to what we do. I could be wrong but, I think a lot of people want some type of guidelines/rules/limits. It gives us a sense of control.

In terms of stem cell research being promising, it's kind of like the "Blue Baby" program. We won't know till we do it. They had no idea if they'd be successful with heart surgery but, they tried. And it was a great success. I really hope the same happens here but, we need some more research to find out just exactly what the benefits might be.

There might already be some dubious unauthorised practices going on when it comes to stem cells...

Strange goings on in 'Hospital Number 6'

But, there's also reason to believe that future stem cell technology might not require foetus death or endangerment in any form...

Embryonic stem cells without embryo death

Altho there's a touch of controversy surrounding that research, it does suggest that one of the muddiest/bloodiest issue at hand may fall be the wayside.

The real remaining issue then would be the 'will it remain moral' one - with regards to some of the more outlandish opportunities the technology may provide (such as the ones Sleezy mentioned).

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