Stem Cell Research: Are Embryonic Cells Better than Adult Cells?

At issue in this analysis is the question of whether embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a better medium than adult stem cells (ASCs) for scientific research leading ideally to major medical breakthroughs in terms of the prevention and treatment of disease, trauma, and even birth defects. Debate over this issue is quite intense and often emotionally charged (Korobkin & Munzer, 2007). It is all but impossible, according to Fischbach (2003), to consider this debate without reference to ethical concerns centered on whether or not scientific researchers will overtly or covertly obtain illegal ESCs by destroying embryos, or paying women to induce abortions. The questions of which type of stem cells are most likely to generate medical breakthroughs therefore include both methodological and ethical issues.

Those who favor the use of ASCs do so in the belief that they are both as viable in research as are ESCs and, perhaps most significantly, are less likely to be acquired by unethical means. Conversely, those favoring ESCs argue that these stem cells are preferable to ASCs in that they are more viable and flexible, less differentiated than ASCs and therefore able to be used more effectively in a variety of applications, and better suited to research because of this attribute (Fischbach, 2003). On balance, given a regulatory environment that prevents unethical use of or access to ESCs, most researchers believe that these stem cells are preferable from a scientific standpoint (Koro

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ctices would have the potential to save or improve lives. Third, Elfstrom (2001) argues in favor of such research that since it is already going on in many different global research facilities, what is needed is the creation of regulatory and monitoring systems that will prevent abuse. Making sure that no research institute, for example, pays a woman to conceive a fetus and then abort the fetus so that it can obtain research "raw materials" is an ethical necessity in regulating this possible abuse. In other words, Elfstrom (2001) recognizes that there is a potential for abuse in this delicate area, and believes that taking steps to prevent such abuses is required. Governments are in the ideal position to achieve this goal. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2008), the American body responsible under presidential orders for overseeing and regulating such research, takes the position that both ESCs and ASCs are viable for important research directed at developing medical treatments and interventions. While ESCs may be more flexible and able to differentiate indefinitely from a single cell, ASCs are readily obtained from a variety of sources. ASCs are said to be more immunogenic than ESCs (Atala, 2002; Korobk

Category: Medical - S