A century from now, I envision a world where patients with diabetes could lead healthy lives, where people with severe spinal cord injuries could learn to walk again, where children born with leukemia could be cured. This is a world where embryonic stem cell research has been funded and supported by the government to create effective treatments for a myriad of diseases. This is a world where the possibilities of science have expanded beyond our imagination, where innovative research has evolved into life-saving treatments.
Embryonic stem cells could unlock therapies and treatments for countless ailments. Unlike adult stem cells, which have limited plasticity and less differentiation capabilities, embryonic cells are pluripotent – they have the potential to become almost any type of cell. The therapeutic applications of stem cells are nearly limitless. If scientists and doctors could harness the capabilities of embryonic stem cells, they could replace damaged brain tissue with healthy neural cells in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients; they could remove a tumor in the liver and supplement the organ with new, functioning liver tissue; they could create skin to transplant onto victims with serious burns without major risk of rejection or disease transmission.
However, progress in embryonic stem cell research has been delayed. Controversy over the use of embryos has fueled endless debates, creating a barrier to research. Many pro-life organizations vehemently oppose the destruction of blastocysts. Because a blastocyst is created from a fertilized egg and has the potential to become a human, they argue that embryonic stem cell research is essentially the taking of a life and thus devalues human life.
Herein lies the distinction: a blastocyst has the potential to become a human, but it is not yet a human. A blastocyst is an undifferentiated cell cluster with no heartbeat, no brain, and no consciousness. Embryonic stem cell research does not devalue human life; rather, it aims to protect human life by providing revolutionary treatments for deadly medical conditions.
I believe it is wrong to value the potential life of a cell cluster manufactured in a laboratory over the lives of the millions of people suffering from currently incurable diseases, as well as future victims whose afflictions could be alleviated by a present-day commitment to embryonic stem cell research.
Therefore, it is my opinion that research delays and funding restrictions for potentially life-saving cures should not continue. The twenty-second-century world I envision – a world of innovative treatments and life-saving cures – cannot become reality unless the twenty-first century makes embryonic stem cell research a priority.
Embryonic stem cells could unlock therapies and treatments for countless ailments. Unlike adult stem cells, which have limited plasticity and less differentiation capabilities, embryonic cells are pluripotent – they have the potential to become almost any type of cell. The therapeutic applications of stem cells are nearly limitless. If scientists and doctors could harness the capabilities of embryonic stem cells, they could replace damaged brain tissue with healthy neural cells in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients; they could remove a tumor in the liver and supplement the organ with new, functioning liver tissue; they could create skin to transplant onto victims with serious burns without major risk of rejection or disease transmission.
However, progress in embryonic stem cell research has been delayed. Controversy over the use of embryos has fueled endless debates, creating a barrier to research. Many pro-life organizations vehemently oppose the destruction of blastocysts. Because a blastocyst is created from a fertilized egg and has the potential to become a human, they argue that embryonic stem cell research is essentially the taking of a life and thus devalues human life.
Herein lies the distinction: a blastocyst has the potential to become a human, but it is not yet a human. A blastocyst is an undifferentiated cell cluster with no heartbeat, no brain, and no consciousness. Embryonic stem cell research does not devalue human life; rather, it aims to protect human life by providing revolutionary treatments for deadly medical conditions.
I believe it is wrong to value the potential life of a cell cluster manufactured in a laboratory over the lives of the millions of people suffering from currently incurable diseases, as well as future victims whose afflictions could be alleviated by a present-day commitment to embryonic stem cell research.
Therefore, it is my opinion that research delays and funding restrictions for potentially life-saving cures should not continue. The twenty-second-century world I envision – a world of innovative treatments and life-saving cures – cannot become reality unless the twenty-first century makes embryonic stem cell research a priority.
This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.
This piece won the December 2010 Teen Ink EBSCO POV Contest.
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