In the field of medicine, a growing controversy surrounds the use of stem cells to better understand and treat disease. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to become any type of specialized cell and also to divide unlimitedly (“About Stem Cells”). Stem cells can be used to grow tissue to help burn patients so they can heal faster and better (“About Stem Cells”). Another important example is that these stem cells can be used to grow complete organs (“About Stem Cells”). There are two types of stem cells that scientists and researchers work with: adult stem cells and human embryonic stem cells (“About Stem Cells”). Embryonic stem cells can become any cell type in the body, while adult stem cells can only become the cell type of their tissue of origin (“About Stem Cells”). Another reason why these stem cells are very important is because they can also be used to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even cancer (“About Stem Cells”). There are many advantages and disadvantages to using embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. At the same time, the ethical questions raised by embryonic stem cells are extremely important. To cure diseases that affect hundreds of thousands of people, people who do not support stem cell research must look beyond ethics so that scientists and researchers can conduct embryonic stem cell research to find a cure for these diseases. The main ethical question that seems to concern everyone is the question of whether an embryo is considered a person or not. Several religious groups are against the extraction of embryonic stem cells from human embryos. This is due to their belief that life is sacred from the moment of conception...... middle of paper ......rcures.org/article.php?uid=1000>.McLaren, Anne. "A Scientist's View on the Ethics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research." Cellular Stem Cell (2007): 23-26. ScienceDirect. Network. April 16, 2014. “Myths and Misconceptions About Stem Cell Research.” California Stem Cell Agency. Np, nd Web. April 12, 2014. “Religious Views on Stem Cell Research.” PBS. PBS, July 27, 2001. Web. April 11, 2014. “Somatic Cell Reprogramming and Nuclear Transfer (SCNT).” Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Np, nd Web. April 16, 2014. “Stem Cell Information.” Research ethics and stem cells [About stem cells]. Np, nd Web. April 13, 2014."What are human embryonic stem cells used for?" EuroStemCell. Np, nd Web. April 14. 2014. .