Sam.+Evely+English

__A new Era?__

Stem Cell research is emerging all over the world, and we as a nation need it. Scientists know stem cells have a huge potential for treating a wide variety of diseases. The research is seen as controversial to some people because the most useful stem cells are found in young developing embryos. Doctors and scientist believe that stem cell research, in the future will be able to cure diseases such as; Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, burns and spinal cord injuries. As you see by the length on this list that if we did not develop this research any further then the suffering of thousands of people will continue across the globe.

Many people believe that test tube babies are a right way forward for couples that are unable to give birth. In my opinion this is worse than stem cell research because when a test tube baby is being created many embyos are grown but only one is chosen. Then the embryos that are unused will be just disregarded and left to die, but thanks to stem cell research this is not true because the stem cell research team pick up the unused embryos and use them to forward there research. So i ask you, the reader of this article, is the life of one baby worth the risk to save thousands of other people young and old?

Some opponents will ask the question, Is an embryo a person? I believe the answer to this question is NO! This is because I believe a human is only classed as human if it has developed into human form, with arms, legs, head and body. Strong Christians believe that life begins at the moment of conception but if this is true then why have humans had the idea of "The Pill" which will end the birth before it really even begins then strong Christians should be fighting against this before they start fighting against Stem cell research. However difficult it is for religions and certain members of the public to accept this policy they must begin to think of the humans that God put on this earth who are know suffering from deadly diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s and suffering greatly with diabetes. In the U.K alone 2.5 million people suffer from diabetes with an estimated cost of 10 million pounds a minute to the NHS. The affects of diabetes include vision problems, kidney damage, nervous damage and heart problems. This is terrible and we as a nation must unite together and help invest in the research into Stem Cells and end the terrible suffering.

“Human reproductive cloning should not now be practiced. It is dangerous and likely to fail.” this was said by the Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning, National Academies Press, 2005. As we know the research is not cloning humans it is simply just using human embryos to research into cures for humans and animals. It is not dangerous and likely to fail because once a mistake has been made this can be classed a success because it has ruled out another alternative and the scientists are homing in to an answer for a deadly disease. As the famous quote says "Failure is not an option."

Other creatures could have been roaming the planet today in place of humans. But thanks to God we were created with a phenomenal power to solve problems, we manage to survive the Stone Age and the ice age. We even invented the light bulb to help us see things. Now we face a new problem, disease. Some of the diseases i have already listed are deadly and we need and an answer. Scientists have the answer to the problem, Stem Cells. If only we learn that the benefits of stem cell research by far outweigh the consequences than we will see that they are the answer to the new problem we face. We must adapt now.

Having to cry over the death of a loved one is terrible and will continue to happen unless we introduce stem cell research. They could bring us from this era into the next and let us start all over again. This time children will not have to cry over a dying parent due to disease. No grandparents will have to suffer painful deaths due to disease. Now they will be able to live longer and die painlessly without disease affecting them. This is a new year; can it also be a new era?