The Debate Over Embryonic Stem Cell Controversy - 2546 Words

Embryonic Stem Cell Controversy â€Å"I truly believe that stem cell research is going to allow our children to look at Alzheimer’s and diabetes and other major diseases the way we look at polio today, which is a preventable disease† (Solomon). Susan Solomon has founded the New York Stem Cell Foundation and has been seen as the hero for stem cell scientists around the world. Over the past couple years, stem cell research has been at its high; scientists all over the world are using these cells to try to find new ways to cure life threatening diseases. Some have used stem cells to treat patients who have been brain dead recently and these cells made the dead portion of the brain start functioning again. Also, some scientists and doctors have†¦show more content†¦The members of the Catholic Church and many Catholics, oppose the use of embryonic stem cells because it means destroying an innocent human being at any stage in its life. Although they do not oppose the research as a whole, they believe this can further humankind and can save millions of lives. The Catholic Church does encourage scientists and other researchers to continue their experimentations with the use of other sources of stem cells, like adult stem cells, for example. In 2001, President Bush emphasized â€Å"Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril. So I have decided we must proceed with great care† (Bush). This decision not only halted the research but it forced new scientists and researchers to find new ways to use stem cells in an ethical way or they were basically forced out of the country to finish their progress. But in 2009, President Obama lifted this ban for stem cell research that Bush implemented. Although there is an amendment, the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, that still blocks funding for stem cell research that has to do with embryos. Along with Bush’s’ statement, the amendment pressured stem cell researchers to find new ways to get cells that are as pluripotent as the embryonic stem cells that come from the newly fertilized embryos. But the real question is how is the use of embryonic