Research Paper on:
Stem Cell Research/Not an Ethical Issue

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
for embryonic stem cell research to those stem cell lines that were already in existence, due to the moral objections to this line of research from the religious right (DeGrazia  49). Stem cell research is considered controversial due to the fact that embryonic stem cells had been harvested, prior to the ban, from extra embryos from in vitro fertilization that  were slated for either destruction or indefinite cold storage. Conservatives connect this procedure with abortion and equate stem cell research with taking a human life. While respect for human life  is admirable, to equate embryos at this stage of development with a human life constitutes a gross misrepresentation of reproductive fact. Examination of stem cell research and the known facts  of cellular reproduction will demonstrate that stem cell research is no more unethical than birth control, which is considered by most American to be a perfectly moral practice. To  comprehend the parameters of this debate thoroughly, one must first understand what a stem cell is and have a fundamental understanding of how embryonic stem cell research is conducted. First  of all, while the word "embryo" is used, many people tend to equate this word as synonymous with "fetus," that is, a developing child, and these terms are far from  equivalent. Stem cells are extracted while the embryo is, as yet, an undifferentiated ball of microscopic cells referred to as a blastocyst. At this point, the fertilization process has yet  to be completed because the process of synergy has not yet taken place (Steinbock 26). This fact addresses another common misconception, which is that human fertilization is an instantaneous process  that occurs the moment that egg comes into contact with sperm. This is not true. Fertilization is actually a process that takes place over the course of a specific