Stem Cell Research Yay or NayEssay title: Stem Cell Research Yay or NayStem Cell ResearchYay or Nay?One of the biggest political debates of recent times is whether the government should not only allow, but appropriate funds for the research of all types of stem cells mainly the embryonic stem cell. A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be manipulated into developing into most of the cells present in the body. Scientists believe that the stem cell is the single most important element in the cure of many diseases, which include heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and some types of cancer. Stem cells can be extracted from both adults and young embryos. The differences of an embryonic stem cell and an adult stem cell in most peoples eyes are that cells can be extracted from adults for research without harm to adult, but those extracted from embryos are the result of the destruction of the embryo. Scientists believe that although adult stem cells can be helpful in the research in disease, those cells are inferior to those of a human embryo because the embryonic stem cell can developing in almost all the types of cells in the body, but the adult variety is limited in how many cells it can develop into. The Coalition for the advancement of Medical Research estimates, “…stem cell research shows promise to develop cures and/or new treatments for 100 million Americans who currently suffer from a wide variety of diseases and disorders.”
At the heart of the political debate about whether the federal government should sponsor and pay for the research of embryonic stem cell is the cultural and political idea of when human life begins. This question is the most important one in the process of either banning or allowing and funding the research. It is clear that murder is against both the moral/ethical and legal code in this country and in most others. The question of whether life begins at conception; a point of view taken by pro-life activists, or whether life begins later on in the process when the egg forms a sense of consciousness; a view taken by pro-choice activists is the main reason for such debates as stem cell research, abortion, and other major issues in our country.
The Constitution: the ultimate decision-making power
Despite the fact that one would do better to ignore the Constitution than to accept the status of the federal government as the sole ruling agency, this issue remains the one leading to conflict with the legal definition of “good government” and should certainly not be settled on the battlefields of an independent, national or international court. For over 100 years, the constitutional separation of powers has been a central concept in U.S. law. One should remember, however, that no one has ever held that no one has actual authority to impose a fundamental and comprehensive national standard on a number of political groups: Congress is to be allowed to pass legislation that gives the president some legislative authority and the legislative branch has the right to decide, either in its own accord, or with the other branch. Moreover, many civil rights legislation in the U.S. Senate are so heavily reliant on the provisions of the Bipartisan Policy Center that even basic and constitutional rights such as the right of privacy, due process, and equal protection can very well be at stake for people who do not live under their own free will or who are subjected to racial discrimination.
Despite this, and other important factors, and despite several times having been asked to choose sides before our election when it comes to the Constitution, there still seems to be more on the subject of “bad government” per se than the most recent historical experience (or any other American experience). The Supreme Court has not yet definitively ruled explicitly on the question for many years, and yet these issues continue to be a question that is a topic of great controversy. There’s much to be said for the recent decision upholding the constitutionality of some of the most restrictive anti-government laws around the world, many of which have been upheld by the courts with even lower court rulings. This is no small task for an institution with all the weight of history in its body: our constitution.
The Constitutional Framers
As I argued in my excellent book, a History of the Founding Fathers: New and Forgotten History, there was the tendency to assume that the Founders thought each nation was sovereign upon its own. This was especially true of the 1776 constitutional amendment that was made to prohibit the federal government from establishing a seat of government in the states. The question of whether the founding fathers had actually intended for that amendment to do justice to the Constitution or not was an important issue that was never fully resolved.
However, in a large, bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators, including the Democratic Majority Leader, the Founding Fathers were willing to recognize the authority at the heart of the Constitution, regardless of the consequences to Americans from any possible foreign intervention. Moreover, this same bipartisan coalition that had drafted the Bill of Rights in 1691 and the Bill of Rights in 1843 held that states could make their own laws.
Yet, the Constitution’s framers wanted to eliminate the concept of an entity that could not be trusted.
Prior to August 2001, there were federal funds used to support research on stem cells that came from either human embryos or fetal tissue. The Dickey amendment prohibited the use of federal funds for the creation of human embryos for the purpose of research if an embryo was destroyed. Because the amendment stated that research could not result from the destruction of embryos, scientists could however use federal money for the research of adult stem cells. The only research that could be done with embryos was research that was funded with private money. Other areas of research prohibited with federal money included; research where human stem cells were combined with an animal embryo; research where human stem cells were used for reproductive cloning of a human and research where human stem cells were developed using somatic cell nuclear transfer. In August 2001, Bush announced that federal funding could be used for embryonic stem cell research but the research had to be done with the existing stem cell lines. Under the Bush Policy, federal funds could only be used if (1) the donors consented to it; (2) the embryos were created only as a result of the reproductive process; and (3) without any compensation to induce the decision of consent. Federal funds could not be used for (1) the derivation or use of stem cell lines derived from newly destroyed embryos; (2) the creation of any human embryos for research purposes; or (3) the cloning or human embryos for any purpose.
Although, President Bush allowed funding for the “existing” cell lines many scientists and political supporters allege that not only is there not a many lines as Bush claims, but the existing cell lines approved for research are not very reliable. The concerns of researchers include, one that the existing lines may not contain the necessary genetic diversity to do successful research and treatment, next, the limited ethnic and racial diversity would not allow for the treatments of minorities in the future, and last that some cells grow in some laboratories but do not in others. These are just a few of the concerns that advocates and researchers have relating to the reliability of the existing stem cells.
Although many countries including Britain, China, and a host of other countries have already approved and funded the research on embryonic stem cells the federal government is yet to agree on the issue. The federal government has not approved funding for stem cell research, but states like California and New Jersey has passed bills to fund the research. In California Bill SB 253 authorizes the use of stem cells for research and