Interfaith Stakeholder Positions (Debate from 2010)
Students posts the views of their stakeholder and enter into debate with other perspectives.
This post was edited on: 2011-10-21 at 04:43 PM by: Terry Godwaldt (Moderator)
7 Replies
Hello, my name is Harry and I represent the Jewish prospective on the issue of stem cell use and how they are obtained. In my religion the act of murder or killing an individual is strictly prohibited. Even the act of abortion is not allowed. The embryo is considered a human being, and therefore cannot be killed for any reason. Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." This is taken from the Book of Genesis. In other words, a person who commits a act of murder shall be killed. This is why people of the Jewish religion do not support the use of stem cells, or how they are obtained.
My perspective is one of the Muslim faith. Stem cell research is acceptable before the fourth month of pregnancy as the embryo receives a soul. Even arguing that terminating the pregnancy is killing the baby because before four months the embryo is not considered to be a baby as per the Qur’an. The process of making an embryo for the purpose of stem cell research is still at debate in Muslim communities.
So does the Qur'an actually says that the embryo is considered a human being after 4 months? Also, you said that the matter is still in debate among Muslims, so are abortions actually allowed to happen in Muslim dominated countries?
Similiar to the muslim faith, my jewish faith sees embryonic stem cell research as a highly controversial topic, questioning what is human/ potential life, and whether killing this potential life is immoral; an act against ethics or an act of good health; to protect and save many lives. Ethics that come from our god can not be altered,This according to the torah, gods wisdom, can allow an ethical lived life. Agreeing with harry's statement comign from the book of genesis "'Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.'" According to jewish laws the human soul begins before birth and it is said that human life begins only at birth (when the new born is half emerged from the mothers body); so the possibility of killing or "bloodshed" can only occur once life has begun or once the new born is given birth to. Now some may question when life begins, according to Judaism life does not begin until birth (so abortion is also not considred to be blood shed but still is wrong to many).There is no clear murder since life has not been given birth to, yes it is potential life but not yet true life. Also, according to judaism it is acceptable to support healthier lives and stem cell research promises healthier lives. Accordgin to judaism " and cure you shall cure" it is is acceptable to progress to healthier lives. So in the end judaism simply accepts stem cell research as it is not considred bloodshed and it is for the better of human life.
" The Islamic Institute supports stem-cell research on
these spare embryos from in-vitro fertilization. Under the
Islamic principle of the "purposes and higher causes of the
shariiah (Islamic law)", we believe it is a societal obligation
to perform research on these extra embryos instead of
discarding them." - so in the end people from the muslim faith accept stem cell research as long as theyre left over eggs? there is no signifigant controversial debate because a majority of polled people accept it. agreed? but ""Islam opposes creating
embryos with the intention of using them for research."" is the majority of islamic people opposing islam and its rules?? and another question what is the difference between 4 month embryo from a 2month or 3.9 month embryo theyre still the same embryo are they not? what makes the 4 month so special that the Qu'ran claims it is now a human?
Hello, my name is Shilpa Gandhi, and I will be representing the Muslim prospective on the issue of stem cell use and how they are obtained. In the Muslim perspective the act of using an embryo through the methods of in vitro fertilization is acceptable. In-vitro fertilizaton (IVF) is a process where a woman's ovaries are stimulated, her eggs are then removed, and then they are fertilized by sperm cells in the laboratory. When these eggs are just days old they are implanted into the woman's uterus for normal pregancy. During the IVF process not all of the eggs are implanted into the woman, they are either frozen or discarded. Scientist have discovered that the cell stems of these embryos are able to develop and differentiate into different kinds of cells in the body. In conclusion, as a representative of the Muslim prospective of stem cell research, we believe that it is okay to use the "spare" embryos for research because they are either frozen or discarded and they can be used to aid in finding a cure for many diseases.
For Amanit's last post as to why a embryo is not considered a human for four months is because they believe that the embryo within the mother's womb for the first 40 days is a drop of matter, then as a blood clot for the next 40 days, then as a blob for 40 days, and then the angel is sent to give the enbryo breathe, which gives the embryo life.
Harry Soor
Apr 9, 2011 at 12:26 PM