domingo, 17 de junio de 2007

Radio Program: Stem Cells Research

The radio program we heard was about this new discovery, mentioning the advantages and disadvantages on it. Stem cells, as we heard, are produced by embryos – they’re destroyed in order to take the stem cells – and can become part of everything on your body. They can replace every type of cell and this is how scientists assure that all diseases can be cured. Biologically, this discovery is wonderful; even paralyzed people will be able to walk again, by replacing the damaged cells in the spinal chord! But there is controversy in the issue: it is not morally or ethically right to kill embryos.

If you analyze the advantages, you get to admit that this is a great discovery and can save many lives and souls, such as Susana’s. She has been paralyzed for 24 years and every morning she has to wait for someone to help her get out of bed. It is surely a horrible feeling, and it is obvious that she wants to be treated. Such as paralysis, there are many important diseases that can be cured: diabetes, Alzheimer, heart diseases, and others. So, for a sick person the discovery of stem cells is a great advance in science, because he or she knows what it feels to be sick, and it’s for sure that wants to be treated.

According to scientists, we should take advantage of this dazzling success and don’t discard it. If we have found the solution to such big problems, if we can save so many lives, why shouldn’t we do it? It is not morally wrong. What they uphold is that it is an ethical and responsible thing to do. If we have the solution so near, we have to go for it.

But killing an embryo is not a moral issue. That’s what Bush says, and is why he banned the federal founds to the laboratory. Beyond those great and remarkable results, embryos shouldn’t be killed. Why killing a person to save another one? There is a killing anyway. It is not moral to do it.

As far as I’m concerned, stem cells are, for sure, an incredible success in science, and that tells us that we are really improving in health treatments. But the point that for this, embryos have to be killed, is really considerable. We can’t just kill them because we are trying to save another person, or even making scientific researches. If you’re going to kill someone in order to save another one, it is nonsense; it is like killing people just to do researches that might lead nowhere. This issue is closely related to the controversy in abort or euthanasia, so I think that it will be as difficult as them to solve it. When human life plays a role in the matter, we have to be careful with the choices we make. So, if you are alive, you have the right to live, why should you kill a life that is just beginning? When you were an embryo, no one used you just to make an experiment, no one killed you. In my opinion, these researches shouldn’t be done with humans until scientists find a way with which embryos wouldn’t be killed. And if they don’t find it, stem cells shouldn’t be used.

Vale Becker

1 comentario:

CAL dijo...

You state your point of view clearly, Vale. Good job