Politics and Stem Cell Research Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Argu

Politics and Stem Cell Research The President’s Council on Bioethics published â€Å"Monitoring Stem Cell Research† in 2004. This report was written in response to President Bush’s comments regarding research of human stem cells on August 9, 2001. President Bush announced that he was going to make federal funding available for research that involved existing lines of stem cells that came from embryos. He is the first president to provide any type of financial support for the research of human stem cells. A Council was created with people who are educated in the field of stem cells to help monitor the research and to recommend guidelines and consider the ethical consequences that this research could create. This report is an â€Å"update† given by the President’s Council in January of 2004 to make the public aware of the significant developments in the science and medical aspects of stem cell research. It also describes the ethical, legal and political implications that stem cell research may create. However, since the research is still in its beginning stages, this â€Å"update† does not describe a complete or definitive study of stem cells nor does it provide specific guidelines or regulations. This is a report that is suppose to help the President, Congress and general public make better-informed decisions as to the direction that we should go with stem cells. This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as â€Å"a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.† Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in... ...rstanding exactly how they function and what their potential may be. The Council neglects to discuss what the boundaries should be in regards to research and whether not it is ethically or morally right to use and destroy embryos for the sake of medical advancement. They also do not clearly state who should pay for the research on stem cells. Since President Bush appoints the Council, there has been criticism that the committee is bias towards his views. In general, the report is ambiguous and does not specifically come to any concrete conclusions, nor does it provide any new information. Sources: The President's Council on Bioethics, Washington, D.C. January 2004. www.bioethics.gov News Briefings. U.S. News Libraray http://www.usnews.com/usnews/briefings/stemcell0701.htm Russo, Eugene. The Scientist: No decision on stem cells. Daily News. January 16, 2004