B2, Topic 2.

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Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Viewpoints

Specification reference:
 B1.2.3 Stem cells

Aims
By the end of this activity, you should have considered, from different viewpoints,
whether stem cell research should go ahead.

Learning outcomes
After completing this worksheet, you should be able to:
 use clear and concise language to describe a scientific concept or
viewpoint.
 explain the benefits and downsides of using embryonic stem cells in
scientific research.

Setting the scene

Many stem cells come from aborted embryos. Others come from spare embryos
from fertility treatment, donated because they will not otherwise be used. Some
people question the use of a potential human being as a source of cells, even if
it is used to cure others. Some people feel that, as the embryo cannot give
permission, using it goes against its human rights.
The religious beliefs of some groups mean they cannot accept any interference
with the process of human reproduction. This means they do not agree with the
use of embryos in medicine. Some people feel that a great deal of money and
time is being wasted on stem cell research. They think that doctors and scientists
would be better off researching other areas of medicine. Even so, there is a lot of
investment into stem cell research because many scientists and doctors believe it
has the potential to help many people.

Task
You will be given one of the following characters to play. Read through your
character's thoughts on the use of stem cells and prepare a 30 second speech
where you argue your viewpoint on stem cell research. The idea is to try and
convince your classmates as to whether or not stem cell research should go
ahead. After this, answer the questions that follow.

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 B2, Topic 2.4
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Dr Jane Smith
Medical researcher investigating drug treatments for HIV
Stem cell research is too expensive, and more money is needed for other types of research.
Stem cells are one of the most expensive fields of medical research. The money would be far better
spent on more traditional research, such as chemotherapy for cancer treatment. Other medical
research is far more advanced and is proving worthwhile. Spending huge amounts of money on stem
cell research is wasteful. I think it’s unlikely that the benefits will make up for the cost.
I have been investigating potential new drug treatments for HIV, where a new drug has the potential to
treat many thousands of patients. The cost of developing a new treatment is small when compared to
the potential number of patients. So I think that the money there is well spent.
In contrast, the cost per patient for stem cell treatment would be very high. This might make it too
expensive for use on the NHS.
If an expensive treatment is only available to the rich, it is wrong. The NHS should not be treating a
few cases at great cost if it means they can’t provide cheaper treatments to the many that need them.
Even if the cost of stem cell research were much lower, the treatments that might be developed would
only be useful in very few cases. We should be spending our time and resources developing better
treatments for more common illnesses.

James Sourgood
Bioethics consultant
Stem cells are genetically unique, just like people, so they also have human rights.
Creating embryos to obtain stem cells is unethical, and using discarded embryos from IVF treatment
is no better. I do not think IVF treatment is morally acceptable anyway, because when doctors carry
out this treatment they create more embryos than they need. The extra embryos are destroyed even
though they have the potential to develop into human beings.
Creating embryos to get stem cells is even worse. Doing this means creating a new human being
whose only purpose is to treat someone else’s medical condition.
The majority of stem cells used in research will never be anything more than a cell culture, yet they
have their own unique DNA like regular children. As adults, we have the moral right to have children,
but we also have the moral duty to look after them. We must make decisions for them until they are
old enough to understand the consequences. However, I believe that the decision to destroy an
embryo is one that we cannot and should not make.
It is possible to get umbilical and adult stem cells without creating or destroying embryos. Although
these may be less useful than embryonic stem cells, I think that it is morally acceptable to conduct
research using them.

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

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 B2, Topic 2.4
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Dr Aysa Atmos
Stem cell researcher
I think that stem cell research has huge potential for curing disease, but until we have more research
data it is difficult to predict just how useful it will be. My expectation is that we will be able to treat most
genetic diseases once we have fully developed the technology.
We need to know the best way to collect stem cells as well as which ones to collect. The advantage of
using embryonic stem cells is that they are the most versatile. These stem cells can develop into any
other kind of cell that we might want. The only difficulty with them is that we must start with an embryo
at an early stage of development. I think that this is ethically acceptable because we can use
unwanted embryos from IVF treatment.
The disadvantage of using adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells is that they are not as
versatile as embryonic stem cells, so they are less likely to be useful in treating some diseases.
We also need to find the best way to grow and multiply these cells. Until we have done further
research, we will not know how easy this is. We will have to culture these stem cells without them
losing their stem cell characteristics.
Finally, we have to develop techniques for using these cells. How can we inject stem cells into a
stroke patient’s brain? Will they turn into new brain cells? If we stop researching stem cell technology,
we will never know just how useful stem cells could be.

Prof Simon Brown

Campaigner for the advancement of science
We have a duty to investigate stem cells to increase our knowledge of science.
Scientific investigation is essential to our well-being. Stem cell research is at a very early stage and
there is a lot more to find out about them.
At some time in the future, when we know more, we may be able to find ways around potential ethical
issues. This is quite normal with advances in science. For example, we now consider many of the
techniques used by Victorian scientists as unethical, yet we have learnt a lot from their work.
Having said this, it is important that the ethics are not entirely discounted. I believe an independent
board should decide what is appropriate when it comes to the use of stem cells in medical research.
This way the public’s opinion can be considered and represented without distracting the scientists
from carrying out their job.
Eventually, in the future, we will be able to find a way to work with stem cells that does not raise any
ethical questions. Until then, though, I think we should do everything we can to keep going with the
advancement of science.

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

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 B2, Topic 2.4
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

David Smith
Diabetic patient
I look forward to the availability of stem cell treatments. I have diabetes and have to give myself a
daily injection of insulin to treat the condition. I also have to be careful with my diet to keep the right
level of blood sugar. For people with diabetes, a stem cell treatment might provide a one-off
treatment. This could mean no daily injections and a better quality of life. Although my diabetes is
manageable, some people have it much worse, and then there are other people who have much
worse diseases than diabetes.
Some say it is unethical to use embryos for medical research, but I think it is unethical to let people
die of diseases when a cure could be found through stem cell research. The life of a person is to me
more important than the potential of future life. As a doctor I could not tell my patient that there’s
nothing I can do because some people find it unethical to try and find a cure.
Although there are ways of getting stem cells that don’t come from embryos, these are less versatile
and so they are nowhere near as useful. I think we should do everything we can to find cures for
horrible diseases, and let the scientists judge what is and is not ethical.

Questions
1 Where do the majority of stem cells for research come from, and why do some
people object to their use?

2 What health problems is it hoped stem cells may one day help to cure?

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

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 B2, Topic 2.4
Student activity
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

3 What is a potential problem with using stem cells from one person to treat
another person?

4 What is therapeutic cloning?

5 Explain the alternative ways that scientists are hoping to get hold of embryonic
stem cells rather than from an embryo.

Student follow up
Write a couple of paragraphs outlining your views on stem cell research.

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 5