Despite the indisputable advances that embryonic stem cell research has brought and may continue to bring to medicine, I believe that the ethics and morality of stem cell research are questionable. Embryonic stem cells are taken from a human embryo, which is “the developing organism from the time of fertilization” (conception) “until the end of the eighth week of gestation, when it becomes known as the fetus” (National Institutes of Health) . These embryos are fertilized in an IVF clinic and their stem cells are extracted from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst after three to four days. They must be extracted because five days after the development of the embryonic cell, these undifferentiated stem cells no longer exist. In the process of extracting these cells from the deduced mass of the blastocyst, the human embryo is destroyed. Since human life begins at conception (when sperm fertilizes an egg), the destruction of the human embryo is the destruction of a human being. Killing a human being and ignoring the irrevocable value of human life is morally wrong; therefore, embryonic stem cell research is not morally acceptable. I will argue this point throughout the article, considering counterarguments and building on others that are also against embryonic stem cell research. Political philosopher and Harvard University professor Michael J. Sandel highlights the ethical issues surrounding embryonic stem cell research in his article “ Embryo Ethics – The Moral Logic of Stem Cell Research.” It primarily addresses the argument that some individuals argue that “despite its noble aims, stem cell research is wrong because it involves the destruction of human embryos.” Although Sandel is...... middle of paper ......acceptable, who believes that it is not acceptable, and who questions the personhood, life, and value of an embryo. While there is no concise ruling on the morality of stem cell research, that does not justify it. Every human being, whether an embryo, a fetus, a newborn, a five-year-old, or an adult, has undeniable intrinsic value, regardless of what individuals like Sandel and Glick say. This value of human life should not be intentionally destroyed in any way, otherwise it would be immoral. In the context of embryonic stem cell research, human life is destroyed and devalued. While these stem cells are being used to find cures and therapies for diseases and to aid the medical world, these ends do not justify the means. Instead of spending time and money on an unethical act, research should be conducted on adult stem cells since human life is not interrupted or destroyed in this way.