Controversy/Ethical Issues

• Stem cell research is one of the biggest issues dividing the scientific and religious communities around the world; core of the issue is one central question: When does life begin?
• At this time, to get reliable stem cells: Scientists either have to use an already conceived embryo or clone an embryo from a cell in a patient's body and a donated egg; either way, to harvest the stem cells, scientists must destroy it
• Although that embryo may only contain four or five cells, some religious leaders say that destroying it is the equivalent of taking a human life, inevitably, this issue entered the political arena
• 2009: Obama expanded embryonic stem cell research, providing federal funding as long as researchers used the 22 pre-existing cell lines or discarded embryos after IVF, without paying donors (who gave fully informed consent)
• Stem cell research and the careers of stem cell researchers hang on a legal roller coaster, because although stem cells have great potential for treating diseases, much work on the science, ethical and legal fronts remains