Is the embryo removed from a fertilised egg in a womans body?
No. Embryos are derived from fertilisation of a man’s sperm cells and a woman’s egg at in vitro clinics. Once the fertilised egg is not wanted or discarded as excess, it is not implanted in a woman’s uterus but is frozen for later research. Why is stem cell research controversial? Stem cell research is controversial because the best source of stem cells is human foetal tissue. Harvesting the stem cells destroys the embryo, which many see as morally problematic. In other words, to get stem cells, scientists either have to use an embryo that has already been conceived or else clone an embryo using a cell from a patient’s body and a donated egg. In either case, the embryo is destroyed. Though that embryo may only contain four or five cells, some religious leaders say that destroying it is equivalent to taking a human life. Why is there so much scientific interest in them? Scientists believe stem cell research can be a revolutionary approach to combating human diseases. Stem cells have the
