Their use is highly controversial.
Adult Stem Cells, adult stem cells can be found in certain tissues of the body, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow. Their use is not controversial, as there is no need for the destruction of an embryo. They are used to regenerate and repair organs due to their ability to divide indefinitely.
Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the many specialised cells that make us up. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that occur in cell development. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these conditions.
Research on embryonic stem cells has generated much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells are isolated from human embryos that are a few days old; they have also been developed from foetal tissue, tissue older than 8 weeks.
The end that scientists hope to achieve is the relief of human suffering. The controversy is about means, that is the destruction of a human embryo. The argument is that an embryo is a still a person, albeit an undeveloped one. Our individual moral reasoning influences our point of view.
The overwhelming objection to stem cell research is that it involves the destruction of an embryo or foetus. For many this constitutes destruction of a potential human, and conflicts with religious and moral views held in our society.
For others, the potential for this research to provide treatments and possibly cures for debilitating illnesses that have no cure and significantly impact on our way of life overrides this concern.
Central to any argument on this is what actually constitutes the beginning of life for a human. Opinions on this vary from the moment of conception, to a 14 day embryo, to a living baby at birth.
Political Implications:
Much of the debate over stem cells involves whether to allow scientists to extract stem cells from surplus embryos, left over from in-vitro fertilisation procedures. Extracting the stem cells kills the embryo; but a more important consideration is whether to allow funding of projects that use currently available stem cells that have been previously removed from embryos in the past.
In 2000, George Bush declared his opposition to federal or taxpayer funding for stem cell research. In 2001, he released federal funding for research on existing stem cell lines; but said that no additional embryos were to be destroyed for their stem cells.
The British Government has approved stem cell research. Because of this their have been instances of American companies moving to the UK to continue their work. Their stem cell research will not stop, it will merely be relocated.