Stem Cell Research

What does everyone think about this? It is a hotly debated topic at the moment here in Aus. No one seems to be winning the debate though, seeing as though both sides have their good points. So what is everyones opinion about this? Should they or shouldn't they>?

Should they or shouldn't they what?

Stu, that question is way too vague.

There's a lot of points surrounding stem cell research, but the biggest one is the source of the cells (fetal stem cells are best, if I understand correctly), which ties into the whole abortion debate ('if we're going to kill a fetus, why not use it for research?') and the implications for playing God ('Hmm...lets see if I can tweak this gene into making my kid's brain cell density 6 times the norm and a super genius' or 'lets see if I can make myself tall enough to dunk over Yao Ming') and the issues around in vitro fertilization to create fetuses for the sole purpose of killing them.

I'll admit that I am a religious conservative, so my views are obvious to some.

i think it is wrong.....

Sorry it was just a question to ask if you agree with it or not... i know there are many different ways that stem cell research can be done and in varying ethical matters. Like, adult stem cells are the most ethical but do not provide the options of a embryonic stem cell for example. I'm all for using discarded fetuses for stem cell research, but to clone them for simply that purpose i think isnt good. Also the "Designer Babies" as they are called shouldnt be allowed, its just like trying to make a super race. That would be lowering ourselves to Nazi level.

"Discarded fetuses?" Probably my biggest objection to the whole thing is just that. Me being a tech-loving, science-liking kind of guy, I am overwhelmingly in favor of learning new stuff about how things work and do the things they do. I also am in favor of improving the lot of man through medical advance, but there is a point where every person has to draw a line.

The whole religious "Thou shalt not kill" thing aside, how does one reconcile the fact that the organism one is "discarding" like so much refuse was mere months away from being born a human being? Just because it was inconvenient at the time? Hell, if every "inconvenience" were disposed of shortly after inception, there would be a hell of a lot fewer people around, if any.

Now, using umbilical-cord stem cells as well as adult stem cells for research, I don't mind. Genetic screening is already a reality, and it won't be long, I daresay, before some enterprising medic develops an antibody cocktail that will filter out all (sperm/ova/zygotes) that hold the potential for a list of specific "defects." How long after that before some person(s) who has way more money than they deserve to have in hand pays a specialist or three to selectively alter said employers germ line to "enhance" certain genetic features is hard to say, but eventually it will happen. That's the problem with Pandora's Box, you can never put everything back into it when you close it back up. For the same reason, I feel that human cloning research should be halted now, before anyone gets smart enough to get away with it.

Now I will open up a discussion in the Flame forum before I cause this one to go there.

That was one of the best, well-reasoned arguments I've ever seen that wasn't insulting or demeaning in my entire life.

If I didn't already agree, I would after reading that.