Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic

Cloning

Kirsten MuellerGovernment 12HPeriod 7

What are Stem Cells?

Cells from the umbilical chord or placenta of a fetus that can become any cell

Stem cells morph into what ever doctors need them to be like liver, muscle, skin or heart cells.

Why are Stem Cells Important?

Stem cells are used to replaced damaged cells that no longer function or do not function properly.

Scientists believe that stem cells will be able to “grow replacement livers or hearts (or any of a variety of organs) for transplant without fear of rejection. They might be used to create healthy nerve cells for people with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Skin cells could be derived from cloned stem cells for burn victims,” (“AFAR: Therapeutic Cloning”).

What is Therapeutic Cloning?

Therapeutic cloning uses stem cells to correct diseases and other health problems that someone may encounter.

Therapeutic cloning does not clone to make full humans but rather is used for the stem cells of the embryo, (“Therapeutic Cloning“).

Controversy over Therapeutic Cloning

The Senate is dealing with this controversy over whether of not to ban cloning all together. The decision the Senate has to make can affect medical research and everything else in between.

There are two sides to this debate; one being those in favor of cloning therefore allowing therapeutic cloning and the other, banning cloning all together.

Those in favor of continuing cloning believe that cloning should continue for research to help people to cure their diseases or to help them with their injuries.

The other side of the story wishes to ban everything all together.

Pros

Those in favor of allowing cloning view that the final outcome of the research is much more beneficial seeing as many lives will be saved in the process, (Pro: Cloning Supporters). Therapeutic cloning is a very practical science when it comes to someone suffering from a terminal illness or something of the sorts.

For a diabetic, a new liver could be created to produce insulin or for someone with cardiac complications new heart tissue can be created.

Pros continued

When a baby is born, stem cells are present on the umbilical chord which can be harvested and saved for future use. These stem cells are then stored in a chord cell bank where the patient can access them at any time if needed. Those who choose to store their stem cells maybe luckier than others because if something were to happen, such as they contract a terminal illness, the stem cells can be used to replace the damaged cells and become fresh, new healthy cells and the patient would become healthy again.

Cons Most people who are strongly against

cloning in all forms have a problem with the ethics or the religious aspect of the science however there are some who believe that the consequences of cloning are stacked against the benefits of cloning.

Some people strongly believe that they are cheating the natural or “playing God”, (Con: Anti-Cloning Research).

Many doctors believe that since the tissue is an exact match to the patient there will be no tissue rejection or infection. However anti-cloning believers feel that the process will not go as smoothly as stated. They believe that there can be tissue rejection and that this will lead to more deadly diseases and illnesses.

The Federal Government under Bush

Therapeutic cloning was strictly prohibited under Bush.

The Bush administration supported and passed the Dicky Amendment which “prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed,” (Dickey Amendment).

This law strictly federal funding however private funding is still allowed. This means that tax payers are not paying for something that would put a human embryo at risk or destruction. This amendment is voted on every year and every year it’s voting is upheld therefore it remained (The Administration’s Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding Policy: Moral and Political Foundations).

The Federal Government Under Bush continued In 2007, Congress proposed a bill that

overturned the Public Health Service Act and allow for the funding for stem cell research for therapeutic cloning. The bill was introduced on January 4, 2007, reported by the committee on January 8, 2007, passed in the Senate on April 11, 2007, and passed in the House on June 7, 2007. However, since the Bush Administration was still in place, the President rejected it on June 20, 2007, (S. 5: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007). Obama, Biden and McCain all voted in favor of the proposed bill, (U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session).

The Federal Government Under Obama

Barack Obama has introduced legislation in Illinois allowing for stem cell research and would not support Bush’s bill that prohibited the funding of such research, (Democratic Presidential Candidate - Barack Obama).

On March 9, 2009, Barack Obama delivered a speech reversing the Bush Administration’s ideas on stem cell research and therapeutic cloning.

Barack Obama is allowing for stem cell research to be funded by the federal government because he believes it to be an important advancement in the scientific world and a brighter future to those with diseases that could be cured with stem cells through therapeutic cloning. Obama believes that stem cell research is scientifically worthy and worth spending money on if it is going to help patients in the future.

State Governments

Many states have created their own laws to deal with this new change in events so to speak.

According to the State Human Cloning Laws, states such as Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, and South Dakota prohibit therapeutic cloning whereas California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and Rhode Island allow the research of therapeutic cloning.

Iowa’s Government

In Iowa, talk of passing a bill to allow stem cell research and therapeutic cloning has been brought up. Representative Mary Mascher introduced the change to the Senate File 162 - Iowa Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative which passed by a slim number of votes in the House and Senate, (Iowa Legislature Passes Therapeutic Cloning Bill). This revokes the bill originally in place to ban all sorts of cloning.

Kentucky’s Government

The state government of Kentucky recently passed a bill to ban all types of cloning. Only recently was it shown that therapeutic cloning was banned by this bill, (Kentucky House Members Passed Cloning Bill Without Realizing Law Would Ban Therapeutic Cloning). Many of the Representatives who voted in favor of this bill were unaware of the fact that it banned therapeutic cloning. Top researchers that the Universities of Kentucky and Louisville are upset that research has been halted due to this bill.

The General Publics View Of the twenty -nine people that

completed this survey a majority (twenty - seven people) agree that therapeutic cloning should be an accepted practice in the United States if America. Only two people believe that therapeutic cloning is wrong therefore it should be a banned practice.

Seeing that the majority are in favor of therapeutic cloning, Bush’s laws concerning therapeutic cloning must not have been popular. Today, Barack Obama has overturned the Bush Administration laws about stem cells research (specifically therapeutic cloning) which is what seems to satisfy the public opinion.

The General Publics View continued With concerns to harvesting stem cells, there are

two ways to go about it, harvesting the stem cells from the umbilical chord when the baby is born or harvesting the stem cells from the placenta of a cloned fetus which in turn aborts the fetus.

According to the survey, most people are in favor of allowing the stem cells from the umbilical chord. This process does not hurt the newly born child but it allows for only a limited number of stem cells. If taken from the placenta of a cloned embryo, an unlimited supply can be taken however, the fetus will die.

In terms of harvesting stem cells from the placenta of a cloned embryo, it is split thirty-four and a half percent between somewhat agree and somewhat disagree.

When asked about whether or not stem cell research and therapeutic compromise peoples beliefs, eighteen people (a majority), believe that it does not. This shows that therapeutic cloning and stem cell research will be a field in medicine that will continue to grow rapidly.

The General Publics View continued

Stem cell research is a very costly procedure that can leave people high and dry of cash.

When asked about the financial aspect of stem cell research and therapeutic cloning, a majority of people (twenty-two people) agree that this should all be taken care of by insurance companies. The cost of having this procedure done should not be paid out of the patients pocket but by insurance companies.

Also, most people believe that tax payers should pay for stem cell research but seeing as somewhat disagree was one vote short from a tie, it can be seen that this is also a very disputable issue concerning financing.

The Future

Stem cells are the future of the scientific world. Therapeutic cloning is just one of the many advancements that scientists have made. However with this advancement and the continued advancement of cloning in other aspects still circles around to the debates about whether or not cloning, more specifically therapeutic cloning, should be an acceptable practice in the medical field.