Stem Cell Research.

[Perfection]

FYI I would not call Digestion a requirement for life as many forms of life to not digest. Perhaps a better way to describe it would be catabolism, the breaking down of stuff to provide energy.

 

[Azadre]

FYI I would call Digestion a requirement for life as many forms of life to not digest. Perhaps a better way to describe it would be catabolism, the breaking down of stuff to provide energy.

Catabolism and Digestion are very similar..

 

[Perfection]

Catabolism and Digestion are very similar..

Not really, digestion is breaking macromolecules (and larger stuff too) down and catabolism is breaking down molecules to provide energy. Glycolosis is catabolic, yet not digestion.

 

[philippe]

wow.what could be a reason at least not to try it at least once?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

wow.what could be a reason at least not to try it at least once?

I assume youre talking about stem cell research, and not digestion. One reason is that human material would become a commodity.

 

[Azadre]

I assume youre talking about stem cell research, and not digestion. One reason is that human material would become a commodity.

Sperm and Blood are commodities...

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Sperm? I think when somebody goes to a sperm bank to make a 'withdrawal', the money they pay is for the procedure and not the sperm.

 

[Azadre]

Sperm? I think when somebody goes to a sperm bank to make a 'withdrawal', the money they pay is for the procedure and not the sperm.

When the women wants a kid... Also, they pay for the sperm, it would be absurd to PAY men to masturbate.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Actually now that I think about it, forget sperm, the real commodity is female eggs. Its a booming business.

 

[Azadre]

Actually now that I think about it, forget sperm, the real commodity is female eggs. Its a booming business.

See! However, I don't think Stem Cells would be a commodity so much as the eggs which already are.

 

[jpowers]

I assume youre talking about stem cell research, and not digestion. One reason is that human material would become a commodity.

Isn't that the commoditization of basic human rights a Republican ideal anyway?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

See! However, I don't think Stem Cells would be a commodity so much as the eggs which already are.

I dunno, if I understand correctly, stem cells can be made to grow into any organ or type of tissue we want.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Isn't that the commoditization of basic human rights a Republican ideal anyway?

Halliburton owns my pancreas, Im just leasing it

 

[The Last Conformist]

Also, they pay for the sperm, it would be absurd to PAY men to masturbate.

Why? I think it sounds like an excellent idea.

 

[The Last Conformist]

I dunno, if I understand correctly, stem cells can be made to grow into any organ or type of tissue we want.

Depends on the kind of stem cells we're talking about. Embryonal ones yes, adult ones no.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Yeah thats why embryonic ones are what all the fuss is about.

 

[Pirate]

Ron Reagan glosses over the point that the eggs are unfertilized because they are in fact human clones. That in itself has many ethicists concerned.

The 'grey area' for others exists because the embryos follow the same developmental path - they are real embryos that if implanted into a woman's uterus would grow into a human. It doesn't matter to critics whether you complete the path or stop after the first few steps, you're still on the same path so the potential exists regardless of the intent.

Personally I can make the distinction that Reagan calls for in his speech between undifferentiated cells and a human. I think that stem cell research has the possibility to increase the value of life, not devalue it as slippery slope arguments claim, because they separate the concept of a person from their body and place more emphasis on personality, thoughts and feelings. In fact, this distinction between 'life' and 'tissue' may extend ethical protection to animals that apparently think and feel, though that is definitely another argument.

 

[Plotinus]

When the women wants a kid... Also, they pay for the sperm, it would be absurd to PAY men to masturbate.

I believe at sperm banks that is precisely what they do, because otherwise no-one would make any donations.

"It is a hallmark of human intelligence that we are able to make distinctions. Yes, these cells could theoretically have the potential, under very different circumstances, to develop into human beings—that potential is where their magic lies. But they are not, in and of themselves, human beings. They have no fingers and toes, no brain or spinal cord. They have no thoughts, no fears. They feel no pain. Surely we can distinguish between these undifferentiated cells multiplying in a tissue culture and a living, breathing person—a parent, a spouse, a child."

I happened to be typing Reagan's speech live as he made it, and I thought at the time this was an excellent passage. Exactly right. What gives somebody (or something) "value" (including "rights" and all the rest of it) is not the order of amino acids in their DNA. It's what they actually *are*. A cell on a petri dish may be "human" in the sense of having human DNA, but it's not a person. Every time I have a nosebleed I lose vast numbers of cells with my DNA but I don't have any moral qualms about flushing them down the sink.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I believe at sperm banks that is precisely what they do, because otherwise no-one would make any donations.

Really? They actually pay people to 'donate' sperm? I didnt know that. What a great way to supplement my income!

What gives somebody (or something) "value" (including "rights" and all the rest of it) is not the order of amino acids in their DNA. It's what they actually *are*. A cell on a petri dish may be "human" in the sense of having human DNA, but it's not a person. Every time I have a nosebleed I lose vast numbers of cells with my DNA but I don't have any moral qualms about flushing them down the sink.

An excellent point. How many tons of umbilical cords are destroyed every year without first harvesting the stem cells? Thats the real crime if you ask me.