Stem cells look like a hollow sphere composed of a clump of tiny,
             roundish balls. In reality, they are much more than that. Forty cells contain all the potential to become a living, breathing human being. Many scientists believe that these cells also can cure a myriad of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and many others. The cells of the four-day-old human embryo can be programmed to become virtually any cell in the body, making them a
             valuable commodity. All this sounds very promising until one realizes the cost of acquiring these miracle cells. Gathering stem cells from human embryos can be seen as nothing less than taking a life. (Begley 23)
             There are multiple reasons that the government should not fund research on embryonic stem cells, but the most important has got to be the inevitable destruction of life involved.
             What good is saving lives when they are being taken simultaneously?
             How much sense does that make? Who are we to decide whether these embryos get their chance at life or not? Deciding that is playing God. Pure and simple. We don't even know for sure that stem cells can live up to scientists' expectations for them. That fact makes stem cell research nothing more than a gamble that might save some lives but will cost some in the process. Can it be worth it? Even if stem cells could turn out to be the miracle cure that scientists hope they are, think of the effect on the population and economy. Imagine what it would be like if there were a sharp increase in the elderly population. Perhaps two or three times the
             number of citizens eligible for social security. The drain that such an occurrence would put on the economy is almost immeasurable. It would lead to a host of undesirable effects, most notably an inevitable tax increase to support the elderly who would depend on their monthly social security check as their only source of income.
             While harvesting embryonic s...