Ethical Concerns of Embryonic Stem Cell Extraction

Greetings to my favorite science community online StemSocial,

It's @skyehi and I'm back again to continue my series on Stem Cell and Stem Cell therapy. Well for today's post I promised my readers that I'll definitely write a special blog to address the ethical concerns of embryonic Stem Cell Extraction

Original Image Source by aitoff from Pixabay

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As we discussed in my previous blogs on the Stem Cell series, there are two main types of Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells and Adult Stem Cells.

As the name suggest, the embryonic stem cells are found and extracted from the embryo by doctors which is obviously unethical right?

Embryonic stem cell extraction is a topic that's been generating quite a buzz for years in the field of medical science.

It's not just a scientific matter but something that raises really profound ethical questions. Is it right to have doctors extract these cells from the embryos of women?

To me the embryonic stem cells extraction procedure is really close to illegal selling of human organs although not exactly the same.

Let's discuss the ethical concerns appropriately shall we.

When Does Life's Begin?

At the very core of this ethical puzzle or concern is the really age-old question: when does life begin?

One of the main reasons why embryonic stem cells extraction is a real ethical issue is because we still don't know whether the embryo should be considered human or not since it can potentially develop into a full blown human being.

This is a question that doesn't have a one-size-fits-all answer.

Some people stand firmly in the believe that life begins right at the moment of conception. This would basically mean that a developing embryo carries the potential for human life.

This is why some doctors are totally against any form of procedure that would involve the destruction of early-stage embryos. It makes it almost no different from murder or abortion.

Well thankfully there are alternative sources of embryonic stem cells so let's talk about the alternatives shall we.

The Alternative Sources

Our able scientists and stem cell researchers have been able to successfully come up with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and adult stem cells as potential alternatives.

The idea is to simply extract the other type of Stem Cell which is the adult Stem cell and convert it into an embryonic Stem cell. This way, we are able to skip the unethical part of having to extract the embryonic stem cell from people.

These alternatives offer the promising situation of sidestepping the ethical concerns tied to the use of embryos in medical research.

Now however, the debate continues because honestly speaking, not everyone is fully convinced that these options are as effective as advocates make them sound.

Informed Consent

Now when it comes to extracting these embryos for medical research, there's a very critical ethical principle involved. This is called Informed Consent.

It's not just about getting permission from patients who would be okay with having their embryonic cells extracted but it's also about making sure people really understand what they're signing up for and that they're doing it out of their own free will as well.

There are risks and complications involved and the doctors that run these procedures must make sure that the patients understand the unethical nature of embryonic stem cell extraction rather than sugar coating the whole thing to make it sound okay.

Nobody wants to see a situation where people are misled or lured into donating embryos for research purposes.

So, ensuring transparency and voluntariness is very important if researchers still need to go through with Embryonic stem cells extractions.

The Motive of Profit

There are some critics who argue that the pursuit of financial gain within the field of stem cell research can blur the lines between ethical scientific exploration and commercial interests.

There are those big investors looking for a huge breakthrough in the Stem Cell research so they can cash out big. That desire clouds their judgement to overlook the unethical side of these procedures.

When money gets mixed up with science, it can really create serious ethical conflicts.

People always get very worried when it seems like science is being driven by financial gain rather than the pursuit of knowledge because it never ends well.

Ever watched any movie where there's a wealthy billionaire who owns a science lab?. It always ends in something real fishy😂

The Super Slippery Slope

Here's another thing to think about

Now you know when you start getting involved in something real fishy, it opens up the door for worse things to happen.

It's almost as they say, one lie leads to more lies.

The slippery slope argument is the idea that if we allow the use of embryos in research, it might eventually lead us down a path where we're doing some ethically sketchy and pretty weird stuff, like say human cloning or creating designer babies🙄.

We really should look into all these angles if we want to proceed with embryonic stem cell research.

The Promise of Healing

We have talked about the ethical concerns but please let's not forget about the prospect and potential of Stem Cell research in being a total game changer in the medical field.

I discussed in my Stem Cell therapy series of the wonders that comes out of this research.

We are able to reduce the effect of Chemotherapy on cancer patients, control insulin levels for people with Diabetes, heal Orthopedic injuries and repair damaged heart muscles.

The benefits and healing potential of Stem Cells is the main reason why I think the research must go on but we also need to find more ethical ways of successfully carrying out the experiments.

Advocates of Stem cell research argue that it holds the key to curing diseases and almost completely alleviating human suffering in the medical field.

Addressing the Ethical Concerns

There are moves being made to address these ethical concerns. There are many countries that have put in place rules regarding Stem Cell Research.

These rules and mechanisms have the objective of striking a balance between scientific progress and ethical considerations.

To draw the curtains on my blog post today, the ethical puzzle of embryonic stem cell extraction is a complex one but overcoming the hurdle will lead to a lot of great possibilities in the medical field.

I end by asking my readers a simple question, based on this blog post, what are your opinions regarding the ethical concerns of Embryonic stem Cells extraction for research?

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Thanks so much for taking the time to read today's blog post. I hope you found it both informative and entertaining. As always I'm open for any question or comment regarding the blog topic.

Have a lovely science day and catch you next time on StemSocial. Goodbye ❤️

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