They were discovered during cancer research, and they're grown using mouse cells as fertilizer.
Human embryonic stem cell research: It's confusing and complicated.
Today, lots of people want a more clear understanding of where these cells come from and how they can be used for research....because President Barack Obama just lifted President Bush's ban prohibiting federal tax dollars - your money - from paying for research on these cells.
It's a polarizing issue that's sparking deep feelings on all sides. Check out some of these websites to get a better grasp of what human embryonic stem cell research is and how it works.
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics3.asp
Embryonic stem cells, as their name suggests, are derived from embryos....embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro—in an in vitro fertilization clinic—and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors.They are not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body. The embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are derived are typically four or five days old and are a hollow microscopic ball of cells called the blastocyst.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm
Many pro-lifers believe that human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person at the time of fertilization. They view the killing of an embryo in order to extract its stem cells to be a form of homicide. They are generally opposed to such research. Others disagree. They believe that an embryo has the potential to develop into a person, but is not a person itself. They note that an embryo is not sentient; it has no brain, sensory organs, ability to think, awareness of its surroundings, consciousness, internal organs, arms, legs, head, etc. They feel that research using stem cells derived from embryos is ethical.
http://www.ncbcenter.org/details_news.asp?idOfEvent=430
http://www.ncbcenter.org/stemcell.asp
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