Anthony Cancellieri

ENG 112
Professor Connie Douglas
Round Table Essay
20 April 2015
Stem Cell Debate on a Round Table
Stem cell research has been on the rise for the past couple decades, and it has spawned an
argument over how justified the treatment really is. On one side there are the supporters of the
stem cell research for its usefulness in the medical and scientific field. And on the other side
there are those who believe that the human body is not a place to be meddled with in such a way.
Plus, the stem cells didnt exactly gain any ground from being associated with abortion.
Embryonic stem cells came from fertilized eggs that were taken from a human body for science.
This conflict is like abortion because a humans cells started out as stem cells in an
embryo, a clump of cells, with no purpose. Thats where the embryonic stem cells are harvested
from, an egg. Then the cells start to adopt their purpose and they grow. A stem cell doesnt have
any job except to eventually find a job. Stem cells fuse with specialized cells and adopt their
functions, and become that particular specialized cell. So what do people think about stem cell
research?
The first voice out of the gate is the one that follows the views of various religions. This
involves the religious leaders, some of their own religions out crying members, and also reflects
the views of traditions that are a few hundred to two thousand years old and counting. The views

of religion came crashing over from the abortion debate (Clemmitt), and so much of the same
feeling from that argument transferred here. They are the first voice because as soon as an ethical
issue arises in science they are the first to powerfully shout NO! Embryonic stem cells come
from a human egg which couldve grown into a baby human being, which is unjustifiable murder
according to the religious perspective (OBrien). Through their efforts they spur lots of pressure
on scientists to stick to their ethics, and under that pressure scientists have worked hard to find a
new source of stem cells for research and they found it. A significant amount of embryonic
harvesting has been avoided by instead exploring another avenue of science via extracting the
stem cells of an adult.
Since embryo stem cells have been replaced, they dont have to be used as the fuel for
most of the stem cell science experiments anymore. But, even with the new path that doesnt take
embryos, some very conservative religious groups still protest it by stating that it is unnatural for
humanity to have that control over natural processes (Vestal). And artificial embryos dont slip
by because they shun the method of creating artificial embryos to then be destroyed in
experiments. In the years past in the Bush administration the religious views have created a
gridlock with the opposing side of the government (Hurlbut), but the fight has been tipping
toward the stem cell supporters because of the adult stem cell route (Robertson).
The strongest supporters of stem cell research are the doctors and scientists that have
done research on stem cells and know about their healing abilities or know their usefulness for
scientific testing for humans. Its important to be able to run antibiotic tests on human cells
without the risk of harming another human being. With developing science and technology,
embryonic cell testing has gone down considerably as methods of extracting stem cells from
adults increase in success (Cogle). The adults donating dont endure harmful side effects from

the extraction needle any more than they would in giving blood. And the stem cells still live long
and prosper for whatever they are needed for. In science labs, they are used for testing, but in the
hospital they can be used as healing medicine from a donor.
To the doctors, this is worth all of the trouble because Stem cells are the bodys way of
regenerating the organs (Kolios), which is a fancy way of saying thats how animals heal
themselves. A donor can have his or her cells taken from them and transplanted into another
person to heal the damage of diseases. In fact, doctors say that right now in 2015 there are tests
being done with stem cells that may be able to heal Alzheimers damage (Kolios), and there is
evidence that it already heals glaucoma damage (Karl). Now, in the interest of saving lives, that
is a big reason why the medical community is so supportive of the stem cell treatments. Stem
cells get positive results, which mean a lot to a hospital.
Stem cells are also being used to research cancer, and play a part in actually growing the
mutated cells of cancer because stem cells regenerate the organs around them, including tumors
(Wu). Thats bad when it happens in a human body, stem cells help cancer grow in the wrong
situation, but the research of stem cell processes bring medical science closer to understanding
cancer and how the body prevents it. Scientists have a current theory that there may be a
regulator that finds and identifies problem cells to be taken out, which may even end up with
stem cell research indirectly providing a way to fight cancer (McDonald), which would be a huge
win for medicine. Thats the value for stem cell research to scientists; they know the potential in
stem cell research to know the human body like never before. Stem cells are a tool for medicine
to move forward.

Now all of that means that stem cells have a fine set of evidence for their value, which
has spurred a third group to put their interests in the promotion of stem cell research. They take
the same side as the scientists, but for another, more basic reason. The Federal Government has
tagged stem cell research as an upcoming multi-million, maybe multi-billion dollar industry of
bioengineering (Vestal). According to a report from the Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics,
federal funding was limited dramatically until the Obama administration, where it gained much
more financial support compared to the years beforehand (Robertson). Since stem cells have the
potential to cure many damages from diseases, its no wonder that the government has given
permission to increase the funding of this area of medicine, especially now that theres much
more public support for adult stem cells without the controversy from when embryonic stem cell
research was the main focus.
Funding has been specifically regulated to the adult stem cells, and a committee has been
created to specifically create rules and pay attention to the embryonic stem cells to make sure it
didnt get too out of hand. Before this committee, there was no such board to regulate stem cell
research except for the general government medical agencies like the FDA (Robertson). And of
course, the government protects the unique technologies invented for the adult stem cell
harvesting such as a 2013 patent for using sound wave technology on blood cells (Intellicell).
With the rise of the new patents is proof that companies like Intellicell, whom patented the sound
technology mentioned, are interested in the stem cell bioengineering just like the government is.
And some will probably follow that interest along stem cell research to pioneer a new field of
medical treatment if the future works out as these kinds of companies hope. And if they are
successful, they will be on the front end of this possible billionaire field of medicine.

The interest shown for stem cell research has been clearly positive from the government
and from the fields of science and medicine. The government has given the stem cell research the
support it needs to go on to possibly becoming much more than the field is now. Maybe the
theories about how to fight or heal diseases will bear fruit. And religion has had its contributions
to the field as well, and put the pressure the field needed to keep out of ethically gray areas.
Hopefully that conflict will keep the research out of a moral dilemma for future decades. With
the rise in a new field however, always contains its fair share of problems for somebody. Maybe
the staff of hospitals will have to get new training, maybe the budget shift will eliminate another
project that couldve been even more successful, maybe the reason why stem cells might be
profitable is because hospitals could charge way more for procedures than it needs to be. Only
time will tell, as with each stem cell success comes around, medical theories become more real,
and so does the money, and maybe the value of stem cell research.

Bibliography in addition to the Annotated Bibliography

Vestal, Christine. "Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics." Pew Research
Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. Stateline.org, 16 July 2008. Web. 20 Apr.
2015