There is controversy surrounding stem cells in the Western world. What is all that about?
Stem cell therapies raise many difficult and important ethical issues and concerns. These are expected for any new approach or new therapy involving human experimentation. The source of stem cell is a major ethical concern. The use of embryos is generally not agreed upon especially when fertilization is performed for the sole use of stem cell research. For those who believe that the human embryo, even at the one-cell stage, has absolute moral value, equal to that of a new born baby or an adult, any embryo research is ethically unacceptable, as it would tantamount to murder. However the use of leftover embryos from in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques is legally allowed in many countries. The embryos used in these cases were created for infertility purposes through in vitro fertilization procedures and when they were no longer needed for that purpose, they were donated for research with the informed consent of the donor. There are no controversies on the usage of human adult stem cel
