Are Stem Cells Our Future?

On Monday we watched a video regarding the research and experimentation on stem cells.  There are two categories of stem cells.  Adult stem cells are cells of a certain type that can reproduce the same type of cells, for example, heart muscle cells and neurons.  Embryonic stem cells are one type of cell that can be extracted from an embryo to reproduce all types of the adult stem cells.  These are like the universal cells.  Stem cells have the possibility of being used to grow new muscle or skin tissue for people who need transplants.  The controversy regarding stem cells come into play when discussing the use of embryonic stem cells.  A potential baby, AKA the embryo, is destroyed when the stem cell is used.  Does this mean that scientists and researchers are murdering unborn babies for the benefit of science?  Some people think that because the embryo was not implanted in a womb, it does not constitute murder; the embryo would never develop outside of the womb anyway.  Other people think that it becomes murder when the embryo is formed; the natural progression of the embryo would be to develop into a human, but researchers are permanently stopping this progression. 


Can we say that is moral to destroy an embryo due to the possibility of using its stem cells to find a cure to a currently incurable disease?  The negative side is that the embryo could have developed to become a human who could make great advances in science or other important field.  I honestly am not sure where I stand on this topic.  I am not sure if I see using an embryo as murder.  I am leaning toward yes but, I want to agree with the statement that if there is extra embryonic material that could be used to develop a cure for cancer or AIDs then it should be used.  I definitely do not think that is it right to dispose of the extra embryonic material; I see that as murder and a waste of potential life.  Maybe that's how we should think about it, as potential life.  If you believe that using an embryo is murder, would you not agree that it is also murder to throw it away?  Experimentation regarding stem cells, even though taking away life from the embryo, can save the life of another human.  I would rather the excess embryos be used to benefit life in some way, and not just be thrown away.  That is a total waste.