Jack Cronquist 1

Stem Cell Research, Good or Bad?

Jack Cronquist
 Jack Cronquist 2

Stem Cell Research, Good or Bad?

Introduction

From the days of Hippocrates and Plato to modern day medicine and technology, there

have always been ethical questions pertaining to the long reach of science. Stem cell

research is no different. Stem cell research has the potential to be the future of science

and medicine if used correctly. Stem cell research is truly spectacular in the way that it

has potential to cure diseases like Cancer, Alzheimers, and Diabetes (Grieder 1995).

Each year more than half a million people die of cancer making it a massive societal

issue, but with the use of stem cells they could all be saved. Stem cell research is not

just for curing illnesses, it can be a key part of medicine that will transform society and

save families. With the use of stem cells, there would be no more suffering, pain, or

emotional trauma that tends to be caused by chronic or terminal illnesses. Although the

goods outweigh the bads in stem cell research, there is still questioning that needs to be

done surrounding its ethical dilemma. The reason for this dilemma is involved with the

different ways stem cells are obtained. One way they are obtained is through a fetus,

this raises ethical concerns debating if it could be harmed or killed. Stem cells can also

be obtained through adults making it more ethical even though the quantity obtained is

much less than that of a fetus. There are many different needs that have to be met in

order for stem cell research to be used practically.

In this paper I will be doing a correlational analysis explaining why stem cell

research is the most effective treatment option for many chronic or terminal diseases

and illnesses. By using reputable research from scientists and universities, I will prove
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my point explaining how stem cell research is beneficial rather than harmful. Also, I will

explain the brief history of stem cell research and how it has evolved over time along

with cancer treatments. Lastly I will address problems associated with stem cell

research as well as obstacles it has to overcome. This research is important to help

people understand that with more advanced medicine certain societal issues can be

solved.

Literature Review

In the past, the human race has failed to adapt to modern science. This problem also

occurs with stem cell research. Since the introduction of stem cell research in the late

1900’s there have been many issues involving government funding. In 2001, President

Bush cut federal funding for stem cell research causing a huge problem for the

continuation of research(Grieder 1995).As a result, this caused a massive amount of

states and universities to develop institutes dedicated to stem cell research. Jessica

Lau, one of the leading scientists on stem cell research at Harvard University has been

studying stem cells for almost two decades describes stem cell research in a simple

way as genetic modification. It functions through the altering of proteins in DNA allows

for stem cells to alter the function of a specific cell(Lau 2020). The problem associated

with stem cell research is not how they function but how they are obtained, they are

either obtained from the bone marrow of adults or through embryonic cells. Obtaining

cells through embryos causes a large problem, which is the practice of creating

embryos and then destroying them to make stem cell lines(Harman 2007). Although this

may raise more ethical problems, it is all around healthier for those with cancer. Instead
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of treatment like radiation which kills both healthy and cancerous cells, it is less invasive

and basically fixes cancerous cells (Lau 2020).

Research Questions

This research will answer a few questions such as:

● What is the cost of using stem cell research?

● What problems are associated with stem cell research?

● To what extent can stem cell research prove beneficial even when considering its

ethical dilemma?

Method

This research will be accomplished through a correlational analysis of quantitative and

qualitative data from respected researches in the field of stem cell research as well as

gathering information from well known universities as well as government sources. This

information will help me to find information pertaining to:

● The success rates of stem cell as cancer treatment

● The extent of how stem cell research affects society

● How the public views the ethical dilemma around stem cell research

Discussion

By examining the benefits and costs pertaining to stem cell research we can better

understand the future of medicine as well as potential societal benefits. By doing this we

can better understand different treatment options for cancers as well as illnesses. This

research will also put perspective on how cancer affects society, with over 600,000

people dead from cancer, stem cell research is one of the only ways to save lives(Lau

2020).
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References

Greider, C. W. (1995). Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research. Report and

Recommendations of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, 1(3), 95-99.

https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/nbac/stemcell.pdf

Harman, A. (2007). Welcome to Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Stem Cell Research

and Therapy, 1(1), 20-27.

Lau, J. (2020, August 6). A new way to target resistant cancer. Harvard Stem

Cell Institute. https://hsci.harvard.edu/news/ targeting-chemotherapy-resistant-

cancer-metabolism