Stem cell research continues to be a controversial issue. Stem cells are cells that have a particular function, like blood stem cells whose function is to make different types of blood cells or skin stem cells whose function is to make various types of skin cells. Stem cells evolve from pluripotent stem cells, cells that makeup the inner cell mass of the embryonic blastocell. As the pluripotent stem cells specialize, they form stem cells with the specific kinds of purposes mentioned above. Stem cells are controversial because the most useful variety of stem cells come from embryos at the blastocyst stage, meaning the cells are taken from embryos of aborted fetuses or from surplus embryos left over from In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Despite such controversy, many researchers and medical professionals argue that pluripotent embryos have ôthe potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine and improve the quality and length of lifeö for millions of individuals (NIH, 2002, p. 1). For these reasons, the use of pluripotent stem cells potentially represent the greatest medical breakthrough of any era in history and federal funding for such research must be approved.
The unique ability of embryonic pluripotent stem cells shows tremendous medical promise. Pluripotent stem cells shed light on the way cells are programmed to specialize. Understanding this information may lead to cures for cancer, birth defects, or other deadly diseases, as many such conditions are caused by ôabnormal cell specializationö (NIH, 2002, p. 3). Likewise, many people in need of organ transplants must wait until a suitable donor organ is available and a significant percentage die because no such suitable organ becomes available. Pluripotent stem cells offer the ability to grow new tissue or organs that would be suitable for such transplant patients. In addition, pluripotent stem cells offer the promise of a cure for diseases that transplantation do...