Over the recent past there has been leaps of medical advancements. Though for researcher to pursue some of the avenues present, they must take into account moral and ethical issues. Researchers have discovered embryonic stem cells. These cells have the possibility to treat and cure all neurodegenerative disease. Such diseases include Strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. These diseases trouble millions of people around the world. Strokes alone affect 700,000 Americans a year and 2% of people over the age of 65 have to deal with Parkinson's disease. Researchers however destroy the embryo when acquiring the stem cells. Is this right to end a life to treat others? Do the ends justify the means? Are embryos even persons that have rights? These are just a few of the questions that have risen in dealing with the Bioethics of embryonic stem cell research. Perhaps a more universal question is what does one do when two fundamental moral principals are opposing each other. The two principals are as followed; the prevention and alleviation of suffering, and the respect of life. How does one weigh one moral right against another moral right? If destructive embryonic stem cell research is allowed to be carried out, what are some of the social repercussions that will face society in the future? There are theological, social, ethical, and moral answers to this Bioethical question that must be taken into account when fully trying to find out what is the right thing to do.
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Researchers around the world are at a threshold of a medical utopia. This utopia has been created by the discovery of embryonic stem cells. These cells have the possibility to differentiate into over 200 tissue cell types(Bevington, 2002, p. 1). The research into harnessing these cells can give rise to treatment and cures of neurodegenerative diseases. Such diseases include Strokes, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease (American Stroke Association, 2002 & Murphy, 2001).
