Stem Cell Research- every life IS important.

There are three types of stem cells- Adult, umbilical, and embryonic. Not all stem call research is controversial.

Adult stem cells- This is where stem cells are harvested from the person who needs them. They are extracted from bone marrow. They can also be harvested from the brain someone who has died. Research in this is on going and is relatively free of controversy.

Cons
Adult stem cells are not as versatile, often the person who needs them are very sick and extracting them would be a painful procedure.

Pros
Extracting stem cells from the person who needs them makes there no possibility for rejection of the stem cells.
On going research is showing that these cells are more versatile than they once thought.
They are not linked to cancer as embryonic stem cells are.


Umbilical cord blood stem cells- These cells come from the umbilical cord. This is also not very controversial either.

Pro-
The baby that the stem cells are saved for can have them grown and use them for the rest of their life.
No problem with the stem cells being rejected.

Cons-
Possibly only can be done for those that can afford to have it done.
Adults at that are already born can not benefit from this.

Embryonic- Stem cells are extracted from a blastocyst (an embryo) and the blastocyst must be 100 cells or more. This one is the most controversial. It is also the most promising. It is not with out its draw backs however.

Pros-
Cells are the most versatile and pliable.

Cons-
Human rights issues.
Has been linked to cancer.

Of course life itself originated a long time ago. I do agree with that. I am all for stem cell research. It is important research that can change the face of medicine as we know it. I am just not sure that the debate should be over. There are too many unanswered questions.
Every life is precious and I mean EVERY LIFE. Whether it is a cockroach, an ant, a dog or a human. When a life is created, in whatever form, we as humans should do everything to protect it. If we can't save it we should shield it from pain, if we can. The reason I give this responsibility to humans is because they are who I can communicate this to. We are also smart enough to know when some one or something is in pain (usually).
If I were an embryo in a test tube and someone was not going to implant me into a uterus, then at least use me. I can see the logic in that. Making embryos just for this purpose- that gets a little dicy for me. If we do decide to use stem cells in treatment, it will happen in order to produce matches. This is similar to a family having a baby for their other child that needs a bone marrow transplant. That child has rights.
My other problem is- before cells can be extracted from a blastocyst- it must grow to at least 100 cells. While at this point it may not look human and we are assured that they do not feel anything- what if some irresponsible lab accidentally grows them bigger? At what growth point is it unethical to harvest cells, or kill it, or grow it more? Should that be regulated? Could there be a point in which cells could be extracted with out destroying a life?

Every human, with the exception of devout Hindus or Buddhists, puts human life before other forms. If you have used a product that was tested on an animal, )we all have whether we know it or not, ignorance is no excuse), you put your life before those animals. If we stepped on a bug, sprayed poison to kill a bug, laid mouse traps, ate chicken, fish or beef -we put one life or human life above another. Most people do not kill a person they live with because they are annoying or dirty, we move away or put up with it. Humans kill other species for that very reason. All humans do it. Other species will also put themselves over other lives as well. Lions attack and kill their pray. A mother moose will attack humans that come to close to their baby.
The difference is that we know that we have the ability to know better. We do not know if other species do, but we KNOW that we do. We can only project what animals are thinking.
How do we as the human race acknowledge the importance of all life? How do we show our devotion to every life born or unborn? Should we all become vegans?

I might be straying from the original discussion but, this might take us to another interesting place.

A bug's life

Sometimes when I see a fly, I think about the fact that it probably will only live about 24 hours. I get to wondering how long it has and when it became a fly. What has it been doing? What is a full life to a fly? It makes me feel guilty about killing it. I do normally try to catch them and set them free outside. They really don't have much time and they only get one life and only one day or maybe two. I hope for a flies sake, there is reincarnation. They deserve more than one life.

One time, my kids found a moth cocoon in our back yard so, I put it in a jar so we could watch it. About a week later it opened only, I didn't notice right away. By the time I saw the moth (in my mind it was a him) his wings were all broken from flapping around in the jar. His little precious life was ruined. I didn't know what to do. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't bring myself to kill him either. I probably should have. I ended up making him a little habitat on a table outside. I didn't think living in a jar was a full life for a moth. I let nature take its course. He stayed on the table for a few days and then disappeared. I still feel guilty about that.