Ethical Dilemmas...

If you have been following my blog for a while now, you will know my feelings on ethics committees...It is such a grey topic and really no 2 people will believe the same thing (unless...)

Last night in school we continued our ongoing conditions discussions. We were focussing on the Nervous System - which really hits close to home for me. With Faiths epilepsy, acquired brain injury, and a lot of the signs and symptoms we are seeing with her.

Some of the other Nervous System conditions we talked about were Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington's and Parkinsons. A really difficult class to be in.

We watched a video that focussed on stem cell research and how the embryonic stem cells were unethical, because they have the potential to become a human being.

I know that from some of my own research, I have seen that stem cells can possibly replace lost brain tissue (which would be amazing to be able to do) and have dreamt and thought about those possibilities with Faith - she has a black spot, a hole in her left frontal lobe.

How awesome could it be to be able to have the medical world replace brain cells!!

My question is about all these "embryos" in fertility centres, that people are not going to use. Is it unethical to use them for stem cell research and to help cure conditions such as Parkinsons? Or how about when they need to be disposed of? Is it more ethical to just "throw them out?"

Can a parent "donate" their "extra" embryos to science?

It brings up a whole other discussion...what is going to happen to all the "extras"? (don't you love my overuse of quotations here?)

I think I heard that the embryos have less then 200 cells while they are just sitting in these clinics...do they constitue life?

Don't get me wrong, I am not wanting to stir the pot (too much), but I have become really interested in this area, because of Faiths condition and knowing that there could be a HUGE beneficial outcome with this research!!

If there is a way to cure some of these ongoing conditions, that right now have no cure...and people just die (not necessarily from the condition) but the end of their life is hell on earth...can the cure really be unethical?

Please, tell me what you think!