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Embryonic Stem Cell Research What if there was a way to cure previously in-curable diseases with the help of something in the very first stages of human life, but thousands upon thousands of lives had to be taken to perfect the use of this material? That is exactly what is happening with embryonic stem cells around the world. Pro-life activists, who originally organized to stop the abortions of unborn fetuses, were most angered with the process of actually destroying an embryo solely for research purposes. However, scientists, such as Dr. Andrew Yeager of the University of Pittsburgh, argue that embryonic stem cells are the future of medicine. â€Å"This is really where, I think, so much of biomedicine is going to be going in the twenty first century†, states Yeager. Embryonic stem cells are a new and exciting medical advance that should be researched, but the biomedical technology of the future is not worth the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives now. Although the actual procedure of retrieving stem cells from embryos is highly complicated and scientific, the ideology is quite simple. The study of stem cells that were taken from human embryos has been around since the early nineties, but until the summer of 1998, a majority of the country had been none the wiser. The country’s â€Å"non-knowledge† of this very promising medical technology may have been a blessing in disguise. With the story rapidly hitting newsstands and telecasts around the country, pro and anti-research rallies were the top headlines. Literally defined, embryonic stem cells are â€Å"undifferentiated, or unspecified cells that are unlike any other adult cell†(Stem Cells: A primer). They are unique because they are totipotent, or have the ability to form into almost any of the 220 cell types in the human body. Embryonic stem cells are taken from the blastocyst, the name given to the stage of the embryo when it is four to six days old. The bla stocyst consists of two cell masses; the first is an outer â€Å"wall† of cells that are already specified and will grow to become placental tissue and membrane. The inner mass, however, is a large group of unspecified stem cells that can be manipulated and eventually used for the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Diabetes. Not only do stem cells show promise for cures to these diseases, but also they also offer hope for the sufferers and ... ...for their own rights now or people fighting for the future rights of those who have no voice now. Embryonic stem cells are an important part of science today, shedding new light on the dark secrets of the human body, but the research alone is not worth scientists playing God or thousands of innocent lives being lost. Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Medical Advance or Moral Surrender? Heather Zinser Communications 12 December 5th, 2001 Senior Research Paper Hour 4 Ms. Boll Bibliography â€Å"Stem Cell Research†. Online. Available at www.uspoitics.about.com/cs/stemcellresearch Reaves, Jessica. â€Å"Stem Cell Research: Both sides of the debate†. Online. Available at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,167254,00.html â€Å"Holy Grail†. Online. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,319351-412,00.shtml â€Å"Stem Cells: The Basics†. Online. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com â€Å"Stem Cells: A Primer†. National Institute of Health. Online. Available at http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm Lee, Patrick and George, Robert P. â€Å"Why Killing Embryonic Human Beings is Wrong†. Online. Available at http://www.prolifeinfo.org/stemcell028.html