Proponents say that reproductive cloning is a logical extension of infertility treatments, hence the intimate link to IVF procedures.īy contrast, therapeutic cloning occurs when an adult undergoes a cloning procedure to duplicate his own cells in order to stave off personal disease, illness or the effects from sudden and serious injury. In this procedure, the resulting embryo is implanted in a woman and carried to birth. This process is somatic cell nuclear transfer. Reproductive cloning creates a later born twin from a single cell of another person by transplanting the DNA of the adult cell into a human egg whose nucleus has been removed. Understanding how ESCR and human cloning relate requires delineation between the two forms of human cloning: reproductive and therapeutic. Therefore, use of the term pluripotent is scientifically inaccurate and deliberately misleading. That means even after months of continuous proliferation of the cells, implantable cloned human beings of the original embryo might be forming as the stem cells are grown in petri dishes. The uncomfortable truth is, James Thomson, who led the effort that first isolated and grew embryonic stem cells in the laboratory says the trophoblast can reform under certain circumstances. The question regarding use of the term pluripotent is whether stem cells emptied into the petri dish can reform the trophoblast creating an implantable embryo of the originally sacrificed embryo? Once put into the petri dish, the un-programmed cells can be manipulated to multiply and divide endlessly into specific cell types. They then discharge the contents of the embryo into a petri dish.Īt this stage of development, the stem cells that comprise almost the entire inner body of the early embryo look and function very similar to one another. This is significant because to isolate the stem cells, scientists peel away the trophoblast or skin of the embryo much like the peel of an orange. This is a distinction used by proponents of ESCR to imply a fully formed implantable embryo cannot and does not reform after the original embryo is sacrificed. The trophoblast is required for implantation of the embryo into the uterus. This word intends to imply that the ESC cannot make or reform the outer layer of the embryo called the trophoblast. Proponents of ESCR often use the term pluripotent. ![]() The deliberate misuse of terminology in defining stem cells Therefore, as a nation, we should rightly adjust the moral and legal treatment and status of all embryos to people not property from the point of conception.Ģ. In short, our understanding of embryonic development as provided by cloning technology could force not only those who participate in ESCR specifically, but also those who participate in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures generally, to recognize there is no real preembryo-embryo distinction and that all human life begins at conception. This is significant because this distinction determines the handling and treatment of human life less than 14 days old, which is so basic to all ESCR. Ready? Cloning proves scientifically that life begins at conception-a position to which the author and most Christians philosophically already adhere.Īdditionally, the insights provided by cloning technology destroy the scientific and legal basis of distinguishing a preembryo from an embryo, the popular distinction made at 14 days after conception. Still, in the midst of the flurry of all this biotechnology and all the problems it presents, there is some very good news that has been overlooked by almost everyone. As a result, those who oppose ESCR and those who support it will never reach an acceptable point of compromise. Wade we have not been willing or able as a nation to address the issue. In other words, are we talking about people or property? Consider now the following ten problems with Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR).Īs the nation sits embroiled over the battle of where to draw the line on ESCR, the real issue that truly divides us is whether embryonic stems represent a who or a what. A developed stem cell line comes from a single embryo, becoming a colony of cells that reproduces indefinitely. The primary clinical source is the aborted fetus and unused embryos currently housed in frozen storage at IVF facilities. Researchers hope that by guiding stem cells in the laboratory into specific cell types, they can be used to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, or other disorders. ![]() Embryonic stem cells are the basic building blocks for some 260 types of cells in the body and can become anything: heart, muscle, brain, skin, blood.
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