What about Stem Cell Research? | The Institute for Creation Research

What about Stem Cell Research?

"The preacher sought to find out acceptable words:
and that which was written was upright, even words of truth." (Ecclesiastes 12:10)

Stem cell research and utilization is much in the news. Since it involves the "harvesting" of living human tissue, everyone recognizes the difficult ethical questions involved. I suggest that a creationist viewpoint is necessary for proper decisions.

Human stem cells are those embryonic cells which result from the uniting of human egg and sperm and the first few cell divisions to follow. These magnificent cells carry the potential to construct any type of cell—flesh, blood, bone, teeth, heart, liver, hair, etc. Specialized growth comes later as proteins and enzymes trigger their differentiation and specific development. By harvesting the original stem cells before their specialization and by controlling their environment and later growth, medical science hopes to be able to regenerate damaged tissue in patients.

Biologists know that life comes from life—that there is no time during which life ceases and then restarts—thus, the inescapable conclusion that the new life begins at conception. In humans, life does not "begin" after the first trimester, or when the fetus could survive outside the womb. The only defensible, logical position is that it begins at conception. The cessation of that life must be called death, and its willful death constitutes murder.

Creationists additionally recognize human life as "the image of God," to be valued and protected. To destroy purposefully the image of God reveals an underlying attitude toward God Himself. Humans, healthy or unhealthy, young or old, born or unborn, deserve this protection.

Thus the question, "Should the stem cells of an unborn human be harvested to save the life of an ill human?" is fraught with difficult decisions. Should one life be valued over another?

While Christian/creationists can hardly support murder, we do support medical research and treatment of the infirm. Surely there must be a better, less destructive way. An analogy might help put the issue in perspective. Hopefully, all reasonable people would oppose "harvesting" the healthy heart of a living but unwilling individual to save the life of one in need of a heart transplant. Is this any different from harvesting an unborn's cells to save another? I think not.

There's a better alternative. In adult humans there remains the possibility of triggering certain cells to return to their stem cell capabilities. Likewise, umbilical cords retain much of this versatility. Who knows what other options are present? Let's look for them rather than focusing on killing the unborn.

Much of this destructive impulse derives from possible huge profits as well as personal pride. But I think the issue goes deeper for many. Evolution has often been exposed on these pages as the anti-God religion. It has justified untold brutality and death throughout the millennia, including racism, the holocaust, abortion, etc. Could we not conclude that hatred for the "image of God in man" is a major doctrine of this religion, and destruction of that "image" its sacrament? Nothing else explains the fervor with which it is demanded and the unwillingness to consider options.

Cite this article: John D. Morris, Ph.D. 2001. What about Stem Cell Research?. Acts & Facts. 30 (11).

The Latest
NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...

NEWS
Acoustic Communication in Animals
We are all familiar with vocalizations in the animal world. For example, dogs bark, birds sing, frogs croak, and whales send forth their own distinct...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Crystals!
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

APOLOGETICS
Playing Chess with Little Furry Critters
God’s multifarious and marvelous designs for basic creature needs are so innovatively clever and providentially purposeful that Christ’s...

ACTS & FACTS
Credit Only Our Creator
History was my favorite subject as a young kid. But it always puzzled me when my teachers said, “We study history so that we don’t repeat...

ACTS & FACTS
Genomic Tandem Repeats: Where Repetition Is Purposely Adaptive
Tandem repeats (TRs) are short sequences of DNA repeated over and over again like the DNA letter sequence TACTACTAC, which is a repetition of TAC three...

ACTS & FACTS
Dinosaur National Monument: Fossil Graveyard of the Flood
Straddling the border of Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) is one of the richest exposures of dinosaur fossils in the world.1...