Week 9 Discussion Forum

“Stem cells are undifferentiated, primitive cells with the ability both to multiply and to differentiate into specific kinds of cells. Stem cells hold the promise of allowing researchers to grow specialized cells or tissue, which could be used to treat injuries or disease (e.g., spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, strokes, burns).” (Slevin, 2010)

Choose ONE of the following issues and post to its thread with supporting evidence. Respond to two peers who wrote about issues other than the one you chose.

1. Discuss what you feel are the potential benefits of stem cell research for Alzheimer’s patients and their families.
2. Share your perspective on the stem cell debate regarding donation of surplus embryos to couples for “embryo adoption.”
3. Why is the task of disposing unused frozen human embryos different from disposing of other medical tissue?
4. Discuss why you think embryonic stem cell research “crosses a moral boundary.”

Week 9 Discussion Forum Answer (2)

I think that embryonic stem cell research “crosses a moral boundary” because it raises the question of whether the pre-implantation embryo has less importance or value than post-implantation of embryo. In embryonic stem cell research, the inner cell mass of the blastocyst is procured 4-5 days after fertilization took place (Sozen et al., 2018). The problem with this is that the blastocyst is also destroyed, causing the termination of a probable life (Volarevic et al. 2018). 

Week 9 Discussion Forum Answer

Moral boundary is crossed whenever one right is trampled upon by another right. I think that embryonic stem cell research “crosses a moral boundary” because there is the possibility of a possible life being ended. In this procedure, the embryonic stem cell is obtained from the inside of a blastocyst, thus destroying the latter (Elling et al., 2017)