Stem Cell ResearchStem cell research is a highly debated, controversial and sensitive topic. Too many people have a distorted perception of stem cell research simply because of their lack of knowledge on the topic. The ignorant conception of stem cell research is human cloning, test tube babies, and the senseless murder of defenseless children. This is not the case. The United States should use and fund stem cell research; it has miraculous benefits and is morally justifiable. With federal funding, stem cell research could reach its full potential. It is vital to medical progress. To form an adequate point of view on this topic you must first understand its basics. Human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg which forms a single cell that has the potential to create an entire living organism. This fertilized egg is totipotent, meaning it has the full potential to develop into a fetus. A few days after fertilization these totipotent cells begin to specialize, forming a hollow sphere of cells called a blastocyst. Inside the blastocyst there is a mass of cells called the inner cell mass. These cells of the inner cell mass are pluripotent, meaning they can create many types of cells but not all of them are needed to produce a fetus. “Since their potential is not total, they are not totipotent and are not embryos” (Espejo). The benefits of stem cell testing are almost unfathomable. Testing with human embryos was initially developed to help infertile couples have children outside of sexual reproduction called in vitro fertilization. “On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world's first successful test-tube baby, was born” (Rosenberg). If the gift of creating a biological child for an infertile couple, spreading hope to thousands of people,...... middle of paper ...... search now and start using the full potential of stem cells. Bibliography Espejo, Roman. Experimentation on human embryos. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2002. Print.Kleeman, Elise. "December 2013." Discover the magazine. Np, 1 December 2005. Web.Kuhse, Helga and Peter Singer. Experimentation on embryos. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print.LaFleur, William R., Gernot Böhme, and Susumu Shimazono. Dark medicine: Rationalizing unethical medical research. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2007. Print.Lenzer, Jeanne. “Have we entered the stem cell era?” Discover the magazine. Discover Magazine, December 14, 2009. Web.National Institutes of Health. Stem cells: a primer. 2000. Network. .Rosenberg, Jennifer. "The First Test Tube Baby-Louise Brown." History of the 20th century. Page No. Network. November 26, 2013. "Stem cells in use." Stem cells in use. Np, nd Web. 2013.