Stem cell research.  Those who support the effort say that it can save humanity from a mound of various diseases.  Those who are opposed say that it is immoral and unnatural and that it ultimately gives rise to genetic engineering of humans and the destruction of society, as we know it on a global scale. The fiery debate rages on as scientists, politicians, religious groups, individuals who are afflicted with disease and even those who are not, go head to head in the battle over whether stem cell research is a medical miracle or whether it is a moral outrage.  In 1999, the ethics of stem cell research were brought into question and beginning in 2000 and 2001, the issue had become one of such importance that governments all over the world felt the need to begin the drafting of legislative proposals aimed at controlling the research and the handling of embryonic tissues.  These proposals even went so far as to universally control the emigration of scientists involved in stem cell research between countries.  Drafting proposals focused on controlling the science, dictating the movement of scientists…whaaat?  Who’s in charge monitoring such things?  I could not find an answer to that question.  So, that leaves me with two questions. Have we opened the door to the medical salvation of afflicted individuals, or does this research represent future scientific aspirations of human engineering and control?

 Like many who are mauling over this issue, I was a little confused about what Stem Cell research really is and what is entailed in the research process.  Loosely translated, the definition states that stem cells are primordial cells of a human being.  These cells have the capability of transforming into some or all of the 210 different types of tissues contained in the human body.  There are two types of cells:  totipotent cells, which can become any tissue in the body and pluripotent cells, which can become only some of the cells in the body.  Well, that helps a little I thought…sounds simple enough.  And it would be if it stopped there, but it doesn’t.  Science, of course, took it a step further and figured out a way to manipulate or “de-program” these cells.  This is the scientific step that led to the cloning of animals.  If a scientist can clone an animal, is it such a stretch to consider that if not for certain laws in place, humans would be cloned and programmed also?  Is today’s push to conduct this research for medical purposes only a rouse to underhandedly accomplish something more sinister and potentially destructive to human society?  The answer is of course ‘yes’ it is not only possible, but probable.  Does our government truly have all the facts needed to make a decision of this magnitude, a decision that could have devastating consequences for the human race, or is the President’s decision to support this research based in genuine concern or the politics of it all.  Are we really to expect that humans with the help of this research will be virtually disease free?  That is what I gleaned from the literature on this subject, and in my book, definitely and completely tampers with the nature of life, and for that matter, death.

I enthusiastically support medical research, but in the back of my mind I can’t help thinking that there will be that one doctor who, in order to create the perfect world, will gladly and willingly step over the line…envisioning and creating a human race that is not geared for a life of independence and freedom, but a human race that is broken into categories, each individual engineered for a specific function.  When I was in school, the novel ‘Brave New World’ was required reading for a literature class.  Aldrus Huxley penned this story in 1931 and it was subsequently published in 1932.  The book portrays a society of humans that are genetically engineered to perform certain functions.  At the time I read this book, this concept seemed outlandish and was considered science fiction.  Looking at where we are today, this research is nothing short of a stone’s throw to this same type of society.  And all it would take is for the entities who are supposedly watching the P’s & Q’s of the researchers to turn their head for a second, allowing an overzealous and unethical researcher to complete a process, which I suspect, began a long time ago.  And lets face it.  It happens.  Take the recent case of the doctor in California who implanted eight embryos in a woman who already has six children and no possible means to support them, let alone eight more children.  You can dictate ethics until you are blue in the face.  You can set the standard of expectations as high as needed, but one cannot and will never be able to force standards and expectations on anyone who believes that the ethical standard set in place just doesn’t fit into their vision of how things should be done.  What I really don’t want to see is this research becoming a commodity that can be purchased only by those who have the money to buy it.  

I feel for individuals dealing with debilitating conditions and diseases.  I myself have family members who are suffering with diseases for which there is no cure. And I do admit that part of me is encouraged that there may be a cure for these diseases and therefore end the suffering.  But this type of tampering needs monitoring and the research needs to be done for these reasons and these reasons alone.  I say move forward to the medical miracle, but our government needs to exercise extreme measures to contain the research to be used only for this purpose and nothing more.