Stem cells have a ridiculous amount of untapped potential for curing all numbers of diseases, but often are sadly associated with irresponsible science.  Any remaining opposition towards stem cell research is profoundly misplaced.  The methods for the extraction of embryotic stem cells were never barbaric, and have been greatly exaggerated.  One must understand that, even if embryotic stem cells could only be acquired by the committal of atrocities, researchers would still have access to other types of stem cells.

When directed to differentiate, stem cells can allow for an inexhaustible source of new cells to replace damaged ones.  Stem cells could eventually be used as treatment for problems such as macular degeneration, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.  They could even be used to treat spinal cord injuries, and the problems caused by a stroke.  As an example, it could become possible to take non diseased heart muscle cells produced in a medical laboratory, and transplant them into a diseased heart, with beneficial effects.  Preliminary research in other animals shows that bone marrow stromal cells can be transplanted into a damaged heart, resulting in a healthier one.  The exact way the damaged heart benefits is still being researched, but scientists suspect it either generates new heart muscle cells, or stimulates the growth of new blood vessels, which repopulate the heart muscle cells.

There are multiple ways to derive stem cells, without the need for harm.  The adipose tissue, or fat, in our body provides a relatively abundant source of easy to obtain stem cells.  Stem cells can also be derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, or, in layman’s terms, milk teeth and wisdom teeth.  Stem cells extracted from these teeth show greater potential for differentiation than most stem cells taken after birth.  Stem cells can be derived from a plethora of other sources as well, such as human blood, bone marrow, and skeletal muscles.

Embryotic stem cells usually don’t come from aborted fetuses at all, and when they are, it is the patient’s choice.  Most embryotic stem cells used in research come from discarded embryos, rejected from in vitro fertilization clinics, that otherwise would have been destroyed.  Embryotic stem cells show the best potential for healing, as they are too undeveloped for the human body to reject them.  Once harvested, if placed in the proper conditions, embryotic stem cells can continue to replicate. To acquire embryotic stem cells, it isn’t even necessary to remove them from an embryo, as the blood in the umbilical cord is a rich reservoir of stem cells, which can be stored, and administered later to cure ailments.

There is really no reason for the mythical barbarism associated with stem cell research to continue its perpetuation.  If one really stops to consider, they can easily realize that further research into stem cells is beneficial, nay, necessary for the advancement of the human race as a whole. It is my personal opinion that understanding stem cells could advance us into a new age of medical science, and greatly increase the human life span. 

Sources include: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics6.aspx;  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21431509; http://www.scopemed.org/?mno=18926; http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/bonemarrowandperipheralbloodstemcelltransplant/stem-cell-transplant-stem-cell-sources; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23139117; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15277695; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2095130/; http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=bioethics_papers.