Due to my blog search I found out that the issue of scientific stem cell research controversy started here in Madison! In 1998 a biology researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. James Thomson, first reported the isolation of human embryonic cells. This epic finding, right here at our University, started the ongoing, brutal debate of one of the largest ethical research processes in history.
Although, "The fact is, Dr. Thomson said in an interview, he had ethical concerns about embryonic research from the outset, even though he knew that such research offered insights into human development and the potential for powerful new treatments for disease". Dr. Thomson decided in the end to go ahead with the research, realizing that the work was important and that he was using embryos from fertility clinics that would have been destroyed otherwise. The couples whose sperm and eggs were used to create the embryos had said they no longer wanted them. Dr. Thomson said, announcing that he had obtained human embryonic stem cells was “scary,” adding, “It was not known how it would be received.”But he never anticipated the extent of the stem cell debate. For nearly a decade now, the issue has bitterly divided patients and politicians, religious groups and researchers.
Even though the finder of this great scientific opportunity is skeptical of this research process I still believe that it is the only way we are going to be able to advance in the medical world. I realize that there are logical reasons for thinking stem cell research is not ethical but I think that people need to look past this ethical dilemma for now and let this great research save lives. The benefits in my opinion weigh out the risks significantly. I would be very interested to know what my peers think about stem cell research starting at our University and what they think about this great scientific advancement.
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