STEM CELL RESEARCH

Stem Cells

Stem cells are immature cells that have not turned into specific cells yet; they haven’t become blood or skin, or anything else

Stem cells have the ability to turn into any type of cell in the body

Sources

Excess in vitro fertilization embryos Aborted fetuses Cloned embryos Stem-cells can also be derived from

certain adult tissues, but many scientists think that they are less promising

Potential

Stem cells could change the face of medicine

Once further studied, stem cells have the potential to replace or fortify any type of tissue in humans

They could possibly treat all kinds of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes

Ethics

In order to create stem cells, human embryos must be destroyed

Many people find harvesting unborn human cells and destroying embryos and fetuses immoral

Federal Funding

Many want to continue this possibly life saving research, and think that federal funds are necessary to help it along

Others are appalled by the idea of stem cell research, and don’t want the government to have anything to do with the destroying of embryos