Abandoned Forum

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Bush uses first veto to block stem cell bill
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13939324/

So what do you think of stem cell research?

according to:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm

A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be coaxed into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body (e.g. blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc). Some researchers regard them as offering the greatest potential for the alleviation of human suffering since the development of antibiotics. Over 100 million Americans and two billion other humans worldwide suffer from diseases that may eventually be treated more effectively with stem cells or even cured. These include heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

Stem cells can be extracted from very young human embryos -- typically from surplus frozen embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures at fertility clinics. A couple undergoing IVF is faced with four alternatives for their 16 or so surplus embryos:
bullet Have them discarded.
bullet Donate the embryos to another infertile couple in what is sometimes called "embryo adoption.".
bullet Donate the embryos for research
bullet Have the embryos preserved at very low temperatures.

There are very few parents willing to give their embryos to another couple for a variety of emotional reasons. There are very few couples willing to receive them for emotional reasons and because thawed embryos have such a low chance of starting a pregnancy. Preservation can be expensive. So most ask that they be discarded.

Since most stem cell are going to be discarded as waste, together with dirty diapers and spoiled tomatoes, why would it be wrong to use it to save a human's life?

Is it hypocrisy or logical incompetence? If they think a frozen embryo is equivalent to a human baby, why will they agree to dump the embryos into dumpsters? or frozen them indefinitely? Will you dump a baby into dumpster, together with the expired milk and burned toast? Will you froze a baby perpetually in the fridge? If they are so concern with using stem cell for scientific research, they should also have a law to force the fertilization of every unused embryo in the world, and stop trading with countries who dump surplus embryos! What do you think?

[TheCountess]

If they are so concern with using stem cell for scientific research, they should also have a law to force the fertilization of every unused embryo in the world, and stop trading with countries who dump surplus embryos! What do you think?

I agree entirely. If that life wasn't going to be given a chance anyway, and would just be destroyed, why shouldn't it at least fulfill some potential to help others? Why is it preferable to discard it? If they were going to grow embryos entirely for the purpose of stem cell research, thats a little different, and seems quite wrong to me. But putting to use embryos that would have been destroyed otherwise takes a life that would have just been ended, and lets it achieve something.