
“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” The esteemed author C.S. Lewis wrote this many years ago, and yet this truth seems more relevant than ever. Over time embryonic stem cell research has become a much more popular field in science. With its rise in popularity, controversy has followed. As science advances, the lines of morality are pushed further and further from consideration. If we are conducting scientific research without the consideration of ethics, then we are defeating the purpose of scientific research in the first place, which is to provide information in order to improve society. The moral conscience of human beings seems to be ignored for the idea of “the greater good” when it comes to science. This practice of embryonic stem cell research is a clear model of how morals begin to fade for the hope of an advancement that could change society for the better. Embryonic stem cell research involves the creation of a human embryo to then destroy it in order to collect the cells as lab test material. This method of scientific research has challenged the right of human life in exchange for the potential medical advances it can contribute to society. With this being said, ethics should be a concerning factor in the embryonic stem cell research process.

Throughout history scientific research has stirred controversy in politics. As scientific research has evolved, the government has had to regulated these scientific practices in order to protect the rights of humans. Many scientists claim that scientific research has a purpose to greatly benefit society by providing medical advancements. The practices involved in embryonic stem cell research directly affect the early life of a human embryo. The creation of an embryo in the lab consists of the fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm in order to develop an embryo under carefully defined conditions. The New England Journal of Medicine claims that the fact that every person began life as an embryo does not prove that embryos are persons. They argue that a human embryo does not experience consciousness and therefore is not in the same category as an adult human being. It is said that the embryo does not become a life until a certain stage past embryotic development. All human beings go through the same stages of life, and all human beings were once a developing embryo. Therefore, all embryos are considered human beings regardless of the stage of life they are in. A human embryo is a whole immature human being and not a mere part. To destroy a human embryo is to destroy a distinct and complete human organism, an embryonic human being (George, 2009). The destruction of such human life directly challenges the rights of human life. The rights of human life are among the most important in our society. Whether it be abortion or destruction of a human embryo, our humanity has always implemented a sense of protection towards our own species. If we allow this destruction of our young to become a normality and deny our instincts, what rights will remain to protect us in the future? Scientific study is to benefit society whether it be through knowledge about the physical world or medical advancements. When scientific research that was created to benefit human lives begins to take them in the process has it gone too far? The goal of embryonic stem cell research is to potentially create functioning organs and cures to cancers in order to save the lives of humans already living. This process is immoral and has given itself the power to choose one human life over the other. The destruction of a human embryo directly strips us of our right of human life by devaluing the importance of life itself. Their right to life should be acknowledged and respected. 

Not only does is strip us of human rights, but it defies the laws we live by. The legal definition of murder is when one human being unlawfully kills another human being with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought is a legal term of art that encompasses many types of murder including “Intent-to-kill murder” and “Depraved heart murder”, which is defined as killing someone in a way that demonstrated a callous disregard for the value of human life (“Murder”). Therefore, if we are creating life to kill it during the research process then by definition we are committing mass murder. Looking from a legal perspective the premeditated destruction of a human life is murder. It is understood that science is an important field in society but the law takes priority over every field in order to protect society. If we allow this scientific research to be above the law, does this allow all humans and all fields of study to become above the law themselves? Ethics should be incorporated into the process of embryonic stem cell research in order to stop this mass murder. If our societal and legal ethics are concerned in this research the process would be shut down as a whole. Our society has turned a blind eye to this research and allowed it to proceed past our moral values and laws. Ethics keep order in our society and therefore should be a concern in scientific research, especially research that involves the destruction of a human life. If these practices are allowed to ignore ethics, the order and morality of our society is greatly at risk. 

Embryonic stem cell research is a very popular field in science due to its potential for medical advancements. The research itself was designed to test and alter cells in order to create organs or healthy cells that can be transferred to diseased patients. Scientists have discovered much crucial information regarding the alteration and creation of human cells from the process. Stem cells are unique in that they have not yet differentiated and have the ability to develop into any type of somatic cell. This property enables researchers to unitize stem cells to develop cures for cancer, diabetes, and neurological disorders. (Navellier). Some of the diseases mainly focused on in the research in hope to find a treatment include Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes (“Embryo Ethics – The Moral Logic of Stem-Cell Research”). A treatment to these diseases would dramatically benefit society and change many lives. Many researchers claim that the potential of embryonic stem cell research is too large to derail the process due to ethical controversy. Though this potential sounds very beneficial to society, these treatments and possibilities are not guaranteed. The advancements associated with the research have not been successful since research started many years ago. To date, embryonic stem cells have not been used successfully to treat any illness (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children).  Are these failed results worth the immorality of the process as a whole? Embryonic stem cell research has harmed mankind more than it has ever produced potential to benefit it. The potentiality of this research is not sufficient enough to justify the procedures in the process as a whole. The creation and destruction of a living human embryo in order to obtain lab material that has no sure results for a successful treatment is a senseless process. Due to this, ethics should be a concern in this research in order to maintain a healthy and beneficial practice in society. 

Not only are the treatments associated with embryonic stem cell research unsuccessful, they can also be harmful to the patient. Stem cell therapies can harm patients by causing infections due to contaminated stem cells, organ damage, infertility, and even death (MAYO CLINIC). A common procedure regarding stem cells is called a stem cell transplant. This is where a diseased patient with mutated cells can undergo a transfusion where healthy stem cells can be switched with the damaged ones in order to gradually eradicate the mutations in the patient (CNN). This treatment does not guarantee any cure, but can be potentially fatal and holds serious risks for complications. A patient in Florida underwent a stem cell transfusion several years and died during the procedure according to state authorities (CNN). This treatment of patients is not acceptable and should be controlled and regulated by involving ethical concerns. These stem cells utilized in the transfusion were taken from a human embryo that was destroyed in order to produce the result of death for a patient. The tests involved in embryonic stem cell research have provided no medical advancements and have risked the safety of patients in the process. The health and safety of patients or human beings is of upmost importance in the field of medicine. The harm inflicted on patients due to stem cell therapy treatments is an unethical and unacceptable practice in the field of medicine.   This processes of embryonic stem cell research and stem cell treatments produce no benefit to any scientific or medical field while destroying the morality of society. 

The ethical concerns involved in embryonic stem cell research need to be addressed in order to continue this process without the harm of a human life. If we allow ethics to become a concern in scientific research, then is there an alternative solution to this field of research? In order for the potential medical advancements of this research to be reached a medium ground could be established to protect the right of human life and benefit society. There are alternative ways to conduct this research and advance the scientific world. The use of pluripotential stem cells will enable the creation of stem cells through nuclear reprogramming of adult, differentiated somatic cells (Navellier). These new pluripotential stem cells are now being considered a way to avoid the ethical concern of traditional procedures to obtain stem cells. These new stem cells could be utilized in research and end the ongoing controversy of embryonic stem cell research all together. 

As well as pluripotential stem cells, there are other alternative methods to collect quality stem cells in order to continue stem cell research. Stem cells are a part of every living human being and can be obtained without the destruction of a human life. Stem cells can be found in the placenta and umbilical cord of a newborn baby and in children’s milk teeth. They are also found in sites within the adult body such as fat, bone marrow, blood, skin and muscle (“Stem Cell Research”). These stem cells can provide the same benefit and potential as embryonic stem cells. There have been successful treatments of leukemia and anaemia using these alternative stem cells (“Stem Cell Research”). In research, if scientists utilize these ethical practices in order to produce the same benefits there will be a healthy solution to the immorality of traditional embryonic stem cell research practices. 

Scientific research and medicine are two of the biggest fields of study today. These fields hold great potential to benefit mankind by providing cures and treatments to diseases that affect many people. The process involved in embryonic stem cell research has always been an ethical concern in society. The practices involved challenge many religious beliefs and values held by human beings. The destruction of a human life to research for potential results is not worth any outcome. The destruction of a life to save a life is a disturbed concept that eliminates all morality held in our human nature. The potential advantages of this research, which have not yet been achieved, are not justification enough to continue the process of embryonic stem cell research as a whole. Thus, ethics should be a concern in this field of research in order to protect the rights of humans and create order in society. 
