Thread: Stem Cell Research: The good, the bad, the ugly

A friend of mine and I were having a discussion today about the use of stem cell research and it's application and morality. My stance on the subject is that if a person has an abortion, they lose all rights to that aborted fetus and should thus, be used for scientific progress to help cure diseases. But we should NOT pay for women to have abortions. That, imo, is not good. Women will be like cattle at that point.
My friend says that women still own the fetus even if she got an abortion and it's hers to decide what to do with it and she should be able to selfishly deny the use of the fetus in stem cell research.
My reasoning to his conclusion is that the women will not do anything with that fetus. It is not like she will hang it on a plaque on the wall as "art" for everyone to see.
I made a comparison that it's like throwing a can away. Can someone pick up that can and recycle it, or is it wrong to do so, since that can that was garbage anyway is still soandso's property.
My stance? If you are throwing something away, you lose ALL rights to the object that you are discarding. If that object can be used to save lives, than you shouldn't have a say in the matter. Similar to how each individual should not have a choice of being an organ donor. If they can save lives, then they are allowing others to live and it would be selfish to avoid that conclusion.
So what is everyone's thoughts and feelings about the matter?

Verzen
Proud organ donor and genetics inquirer, soon to be genetics researcher =)

The only thing I, a proud democrat, has every agreed on with president bush was when he said, "There should be a limit to a person's freedom"

Usually a woman has an abortion at a point where it is no longer useful for stemcell research.

Besides, it is illegal to buy human body parts for research. Organs and fetuses are off limits. Everything must be donated.

Most of the embryos for stem cell research are the left-overs from fertility clinics. Since many eggs are fertilized in the process of artificial insemination. In fact this is the only legal source of fetal stem cells in the western world. I also believe it should remain as such.

As for abortions being paid for, they already are in most western countries where you have universal healthcare, just not for the reasons you are concerned with.

Stem cell research isn't necessarily linked to human fetuses.

Has anyone figured out how to revert an adult cell back into an undifferentiated stem cell?

yes.