Friday, May 6, 2011

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Essay - MLA Sources

Harris, Sam. "The Case Against Faith | Cover." Sam Harris. 13 Nov. 2006. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-case-against-faith/>.

"Treatment." EmCell. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.emcell.com/en/treatment.htm>.

"Embryonic Stem Cell." Wikipedia. Web. 03 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryonic_stem_cells>.

Park, Alice. "Ruling Halts Federal Funding of Embryonic-Stem-Cell Research." Time.com. 24 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2013042,00.html>.

"Stem Cell Controversy." Bookstrike - Genetic Engineering. Web. 03 May 2011. <http://bootstrike.com/Genetics/StemCells/controversy.html>.

Sam Harris - Stem Cells and Morality. Youtube. Web. 03 May 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUwnMX8ht3U>.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Argumentative Essay


Embryonic stem cell research is a highly debated and sensitive topic.  Such good can come from researching this technology because many people would benefit from it.  In the following paragraphs, I will explain what embryonic stem cells are and why the United States should be utilizing this medical advancement.  Further, I will point out the flaws in the arguments of those who are opposed to the use of these stem cells.  The United States will soon fall behind other countries who will be using this advancement if we cannot come to a logical conclusion on this vital issue.
            In the human body, there are more than 220 different cell types.    All of those cell types are derived from a cluster of cells known as embryonic stem cells.  These unique cells come from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst which is a young embryo approximately four to five days old.  What makes these cells so very unique is that they are pluripotent, which means that they can be characterized to differentiate into any of the three germ layers which exist in the human body: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.   The endoderm is comprised of the stomach, intestines, and the lungs.  The mesoderm is mainly the muscle, blood, and bone.  This leaves the ectoderm with your skin and nervous system.  These cells have the ability to repair almost any part of the human body, and that is what makes embryonic stem cells so special. Another aspect of these cells is that they have the ability, under the right circumstances, to replicate themselves indefinitely.  Since they have the ability to produce unlimited numbers of themselves and can be characterized to become any of the 220 cell types, they can be used in medicine for regenerative therapy and medical research. (Embryonic Stem Cell)
            Regenerative therapy means exactly what it implies.  Tissue which is lost or damaged due to disease or injury can be subsequently repaired or replaced by new tissue grown from administered embryonic stem cells.  Once the stem cells are administered into the patient's body, the cells move to the damaged area, engraft and multiply, replace damaged cells, and can restore the bodily functions of that area.  Some ailments which can possibly be treated with the use of embryonic stem cells are various cancers, genetic diseases, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and blindness.  There are many other conditions which could be dealt with using this incredible technology. (Treatment)
            So if major disabilities like the ones listed can be partially or fully treated, why don't we utilize them?  What is the ethical issue regarding the harvesting and use of these stem cells?  The main controversial issue of this type of research is the status of the human embryo.  When the inner cell mass of the embryo is taken, the embryo dies.  The reason for this is because the inner cell mass is what forms the three germ layers of the human body, so without it the embryo will no longer develop.  People who are against the harvesting, research, and use of these special cells are known to be "pro-life."  They are generally religious people who believe that the four-day-old embryo has a soul and is plainly murdered when harvested.  The pro-lifers believe that the research of these stem cells "instrumentalizes and violates the sanctity of life."  They make the  argument that the embryo is a potential human being and see human life as starting the instant an egg becomes fertilized.  This is the first flaw in their argument.  Scientifically, an embryo is not human until it starts to perform human functions.  At the time of harvest, it is only a cluster of cells no different than any of the other cells in the human body.  While they are correct that the embryo is a potential human, the embryo is not yet human by any scientific standards. (Stem Cell Controversy) 
            A popular philosopher by the name of Sam Harris makes a compelling argument for embryonic stem cell research in his article titled "The Case Against Faith."  In this writing, he mentions how President Bush used his first veto to cut off federal funding to embryonic stem cell research.  President Bush believes that human life begins at the moment of conception.  Harris states "[Bush] believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion."  He goes on to make the comparison that when the embryo is harvested it is a collection of a mere 150 cells, while there are more than 100,000 cells which exist in the brain of a fly. (Harris)
            During a speech given at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sam Harris further criticizes the pro-life argument by addressing the issue of the embryo being a potential human.  He states, "Every cell in your body given the right manipulations, every cell with a nucleus is now a potential human being.  Every time you scratch your nose, you have committed a holocaust of potential human beings."  And what about the argument of each embryo having a soul?  What would happen to the soul when the embryo splits, resulting in identical twins?  Think about it.  Does this mean that one soul can split into two souls?  Couldn't the embryos fuse back together to form a chimera?  What then happens to the other soul?  Harris states that this "arithmetic of souls" doesn't make any sense, and that these illogical arguments are prolonging the misery of people who suffer from debilitating and degenerative diseases.  Harris further explains that "our moral intuitions have been obscured by religious meta-physics. This is a kind of blindness that is very well subscribed in our society...and it goes by the name of religious faith." (Sam Harris - Stem Cells and Morality)
            It is clear that nearly every person who is against embryonic stem cell research is a religious person who is simply abiding by the stipulations of their faith.  They regurgitate the same few illogical arguments that coincide with their beliefs and are blinded by their religion.  How could the needs of a few cells from an undeveloped embryo outweigh those of a living, breathing human being who has no choice but to live a substandard life?  How can a person who has any type of moral value or sense of human wellbeing come to this kind of conclusion?  You have to ask yourself, which is more immoral---destroying an embryo that has not even started to carry out human functions, or letting millions of human beings continue to suffer as a result of religious incompetence?  The United States is falling behind the rest of the world in the medical field because other countries are able to see past the religious dogmatism and recognize the importance of this medical miracle.  Eventually we will just travel to other countries to have major procedures done that involve the use of these stem cells.  Why would we seek outdated treatment here in the US when we can have more promising, advanced medical procedures done in foreign countries? 
            It all comes down to federal funding of the research.  Without federal funding, it becomes very hard for medical facilities to continue studying embryonic stem cells.  Almost all of the men and women who we elected to represent us in office are God-fearing people, but not all of them are against the research.   The politicians who do not support the research are generally conservative, where as the ones who are in support of it are mostly liberal.  For example, President Bush cut off the federal funding for stem cell research, but President Obama resumed the funding shortly after taking office.  Although, in late August of 2009 a federal judge declared that embryonic stem cell research was once again off limits for federal funding.  The reason for this was because Obama's action violated the previous 1996 Dickey-Wicker amendment which disallows funding for any procedure in which embryos are "created, destroyed, or discarded or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death." In 1999, Harriet Rabb, counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services, determined that human embryonic stem cells that are derived from embryos are not the same as embryos and are therefore immune to the federal funding cuts.   A federal court said that deciding question was whether or not an embryo was destroyed as a result of the procedure. (Park)
            This country was founded with a very important ideology: the separation of church and state.  The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This simply means that religion and religious values need to remain separate from politics and government.  Embryonic stem cell research is a prime example of why the founding fathers incorporated this concept into the Constitution.  If our politicians honored the Constitution and came to the logical agreement to fund this research, many people in the US can be treated.  For this hot issue, the pros absolutely out-weigh the cons and anyone who cannot see that is blind to the scientific facts.  The US is falling behind the rest of the world and it is quite a shame because there is so much potential in this field of medicine.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Gap Fill Annotated Bibliography - Sam Harris article

1) Harris, Sam. "The Case Against Faith | Cover." Sam Harris. 13 Nov. 2006. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-case-against-faith/>.

2)  Religious people believe in illogical things which don't add up and don't make any sense when compared next to the rest of the physical world.  These are the same people that elect our congressional representatives, and who run for office themselves.  Believing in these sorts of ridiculous notions is no way to go about maintaining a stable civilization (geopolitically,  environmentally, and economically).  Christian ministers who hold congregations in which thousands of people attend are some of the most well-funded and influential people in our society. 
While it is wrong to criticize someone's personal religious beliefs, many of their ideals conflict with "genuine morality."  Religious people are quick to focus their attention to "moral problems" such as gay marriage where nobody actually suffers, but they are fine with letting people suffer if it coincides with their religious beliefs.   Embryonic Stem Cell research is a prime example.  The majority of religious people believe that human life starts at the moment of conception, and that the embryo has a soul.  Therefore, a girl with an extreme ailment which needs medical care cannot take precedence over the "life" of a five day old embryo. 
Religious people are protected from the demand to provide valid, logical arguments by their strongly held beliefs.  These are the same beliefs that dictate exactly how they will live their life.  Our militaristic and destructive technology is only getting better.  Our obsession with religion poses a threat to all of humanity while we possess weapons of mass destruction in a world in which religious tension is always rising. 

3)  This is relevant to my topic because it provides logical arguments in support of ESCR.  I can use this, along with other passages from this article to help support my claim.

4) "Bush used his first veto to deny federal funding to this research. He did this on the basis of his religious faith. Like millions of other Americans, President Bush believes that “human life starts at the moment of conception.” Specifically, he believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion."
"The problem, however, is that much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable and incompatible with genuine morality. One of the worst things about religion is that it tends to separate questions of right and wrong from the living reality of human and animal suffering."

Working Draft 2 - ESC

In the human body, there are more than 220 different cell types.    All of those cell types are derived from a cluster of cells known as embryonic stem cells.  These unique cells come from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, a young embryo approximately four to five days old.  What makes these cells so very unique is that they are pluripotent.  This mean that they can be characterized to differentiate into any of the three germ layers which exist in the human body: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.   The endoderm is comprised of the stomach, intestines, and the lungs.  The mesoderm is mainly the muscle, blood, and bone.  This leaves the ectoderm with your skin and nervous system.  Another aspect of these cells is that they have the ability, under the right circumstances, to replicate themselves indefinitely.  Since they have the ability to produce unlimited numbers of themselves, they can be used in medicine for regenerative therapy and medical research. 
            Regenerative therapy means exactly what it implies.  Tissues which is lost or damaged due to disease or injury can be subsequently repaired or replaced by new tissue grown from administered embryonic stem cells.  "After administration into the patient’s body, fetal stem cells migrate to the site of damage, engraft, [multiply], undergo specialization regulated by the new host, substitute lost or damaged cells, and restore the cell mass and impaired body functions."  Some ailments which can possibly be treated with the use of embryonic stem cells are cancers, genetic diseases, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and blindness.  So if major disabilities like the ones listed can be partially or fully treated, why don't we utilize them?  What is the ethical issue regarding the harvest and use of these stem cells?
            The main controversial issue of this type of research is the status of the human embryo.  When the inner cell mass of the embryo is taken, the embryo dies.  The reason for this, is because that inner cell mass is what forms the three germ layers of the human body, so without it the embryo will no longer develop.  People who are against the harvesting, research, and use of these special cells are known to be "pro-life."  They generally believe that the four day embryo as a potential human being has a soul and is plainly murdered when harvested.  The pro-lifers are usually religious people who believe that the research of these stem cells "instrumentalizes and violates the sanctity of life."  They see human life as starting the second the an egg becomes fertilized, though scientifically, an embryo is not human until it starts to perform human functions.  At the time of harvest, it is only a cluster of cells, just like all of the other cells in the human body.  
            A popular philosopher by the name of Sam Harris makes a compelling argument for embryonic stem cell research in his article titled "The Case Against Faith."  In this writing, he mentions how President Bush used his first veto to cut off federal funding to embryonic stem cell research.  President Bush believes that human life begins at the moment of conception.  Harris stated "[Bush] believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion."  He goes on to make the comparison that the human embryo, when harvested, is a collection of a mere 150 cells, and there are more than 100,000 cells which exist in the brain of a fly.
            During a speech given at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sam Harris states that "Every cell in your body given the right manipulations, every cell with a nucleus, is now a potential human being.  Every time you scratch your nose, you have committed a holocaust of potential human beings."  Harris goes on to examine the argument that each embryo has a soul.  He raises the question of what happens to the soul when the embryo splits, resulting in identical twins.  Does this mean that one soul can split into two souls?  What happens if the embryos fuse back together to form a chimera?  What happens to the other soul?  He states that this "arithmetic of souls" doesn't make any sense, and that these illogical arguments are prolonging the misery of millions of humans suffering from debilitating and degenerative diseases.  Harris further explains that our "moral intuitions have been obscured by religious meta-physics. This is a kind of blindness that is very well subscribed in our society...and it goes by the name of religious faith."
            It has become clear that almost all of the people who are opposed to embryonic stem cell research are religious people.  They regurgitate the same couple illogical arguments that coincide with their beliefs and are blinded by their religious faith which only prolongs the suffering of others who really need help.  How could the needs of a few cells in a petri dish outweigh those of a living, breathing human being who has no choice but to live a substandard life.  The men and women who we elected to represent us in office are almost all God-fearing people.   As a result, many of our politicians do not support the funding of the most promising medical advancement in human history.  Other countries can see past the religious dogmatism and recognize the importance of this medical miracle.  The United States is falling behind the rest of the world in the medical field.  Eventually we will just travel to other countries to have major procedures done, because there will be no point in being treated here with out-dated techniques.

Areas of Discussion

In my paper I am going to use both areas of discussion ("ESC should be prohibited", "ESC should be funded").  For my topic, embryonic stem cells, there exists only two sides to the argument so it is important that both sides are told.  I will be able to explain why some people are against embryonic stem cell research, and I will be able to present the supporter's side of the issue. 

Circles of Evidence - ESC Research Paper

ESC Research should be prohibited:
    -Kills potential human being
    -Should use adult stem cells instead
    -We can't play God

The Govt. should fund the research of ESC:
    -ESC can cure diseases
    -Make someone's life more livable
    -Embryo is only a few cells big when harvested

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Working Draft - Embryonic Stem Cells


            In the human body, there are more than 220 different cell types.    All of those cell types are derived from a cluster of cells known as embryonic stem cells.  These unique cells come from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, a young embryo approximately four to five days old.  What makes these cells so very unique is that they are pluripotent.  This mean that they can be characterized to differentiate into any of the three germ layers which exist in the human body: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.   The endoderm is comprised of the stomach, intestines, and the lungs.  The mesoderm is mainly the muscle, blood, and bone.  This leaves the ectoderm with your skin and nervous system.  Another aspect of these cells is that they have the ability, under the right circumstances, to replicate themselves indefinitely.  Since they have the ability to produce unlimited numbers of themselves, they can be used in medicine for regenerative therapy and medical research.  

            Regenerative therapy means exactly what it implies.  Tissues which is lost or damaged due to disease or injury can be subsequently repaired or replaced by new tissue grown from administered embryonic stem cells.  "After administration into the patient’s body, fetal stem cells migrate to the site of damage, engraft, [multiply], undergo specialization regulated by the new host, substitute lost or damaged cells, and restore the cell mass and impaired body functions."  Some ailments which can possibly be treated with the use of embryonic stem cells are cancers, genetic diseases, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and blindness.  So if major disabilities like the ones listed can be partially or fully treated, why don't we utilize them?  What is the ethical issue regarding the harvest and use of these stem cells?

            The main controversial issue of this type of research is the status of the human embryo.  When the inner cell mass of the embryo is taken, the embryo dies.  The reason for this, is because that inner cell mass is what forms the three germ layers of the human body, so without it the embryo will no longer develop.  People who are against the harvesting, research, and use of these special cells are known to be "pro-life."  They generally believe that the four day embryo as a potential human being has a soul and is plainly murdered when harvested.  The pro-lifers are usually religious people who believe that the research of these stem cells "instrumentalizes and violates the sanctity of life."  They see human life as starting the second the an egg becomes fertilized, though scientifically, an embryo is not human until it starts to perform human functions.  At the time of harvest, it is only a cluster of cells, just like all of the other cells in the human body.   

            A popular philosopher by the name of Sam Harris makes a compelling argument for embryonic stem cell research in his article titled "The Case Against Faith."  In this writing, he mentions how President Bush used his first veto to cut off federal funding to embryonic stem cell research.  President Bush believes that human life begins at the moment of conception.  Harris stated "[Bush] believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion."  He goes on to make the comparison that the human embryo, when harvested, is a collection of a mere 150 cells, and there are more than 100,000 cells which exist in the brain of a fly.