Since adult stem cells can usually be harvested from the very people they would treat, I've often wondered why there has been such a hard push in the direction of embryonic stem cell research. The ethical questions involved in dissected what may be (and I believe is) a person (an embryo is a distinct human being, at the very least). Yes, I've heard that embryonic stem cells are easier to work with than their adult counterparts, but that doesn't resolve for me and for many people the ethical doubts involved.
Nancy Reagan has campaigned for embryonic stem cell research based on her sad experience with former President Reagan's slow decline through Alzheimer's. While I am saddened by experiences like that and remember very well the way we lost my maternal grandmother to that disease, I wouldn't want my own cure or that of any loved one's to come at the cost of another human life. Even organ transplants (when performed legally) only involve voluntary donations that don't kill the person making the donation, or are derived from people who have recently died due to other reasons.
I hope and pray that research involving adult stem cells will be successful in curing a multitude of illnesses, and that the benefits will ultimately be available to all.
See also:
Injured? Horsing Around With Stem Cells May Get You Back in the Saddle
UDATE: Now Japanese researchers have found a way to derive viable stem cells from extracted wisdom teeth. Click here to read.
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