Stem Cell Research

For almost half a century, scientists have been fervently researching and studying a possible answer to many severe health problems such as cancer, spinal chord injuries, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and many others. This possible answer lies in a type of cell called a stem cell. Stem cells are a special type of cell that can regenerate themselves and develop into other types of cells, like muscle tissue for example. The study of stem cells was begun by two Canadian scientists named Earnest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960’s when the two were experimenting with bone marrow transplants in mice. There are two different types of stem cells: embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells come from unborn fetuses. Adult stem cells don’t necessarily have to come from actual adults, they can be found in any human body that is already developed.

There are other differences between embryonic and adult stem cells as well. Embryonic stem cells are more likely to be rejected by the body than adult stem cells because the adult cells are already specialized in what type of cell they will become; but the embryonic cell can become any type of cell while the adult cell is much more limited in its possibilities. Embryonic stem cells are much easier to acquire and maintain in the lab than adult stem cells. The difference that seems to be most important to most critics today is that embryonic stem cells kill the donor while adult stem cells don’t.

Although stem cell research seems to hold a promising cure to many illnesses, it carries a large amount of criticism and controversy. Because embryonic stem cell research requires the destruction of a human embryo, many people disapprove of it. These people believe that because the embryo will grow and form into a human being, it is a human life, and should be respected as such. Biologically, these embryos are 100% human, having all 46 human chromosomes and a unique genetic code, regardless of the fact that they are still just clumps of cells looking nothing at all like a human being. Many Christians do not approve of embryonic stem cell research because of this fact, and that the Bible says in Psalms 139 that God “knit me together in my mother’s womb,” and “saw my unformed body.” Christians view the killing of human embryos for stem cells as murderous and sinful in the eyes of God and that it is unjustifiable, regardless of the possible benefits to society and medical knowledge.

Adult stem cell research is a much less hotly debated upon topic. As mentioned earlier, it does not kill the donor like embryonic stem cells. Also, embryonic stem cells have been known to cause cancerous tumors in the recipients, while adult stem cells have never had such a problem. Many Christians are more favorable towards adult stem cell research because it does not kill anything and is therefore acceptable by the Bible. Many doctors and scientists