There are probably no two words together that elicit more potential debate than Stem Cells. This is especially true when we think about embryonic stem cells, which are derived from human embryos.
Whether federal dollars for research are released to studies these cells depends on who is in the White house. President Bush froze the number of cell lines for research in his presidency and stopped the flow of federal funds. President Obama just turned the spigot back on, and the money has flowed (just like a lot of projects that have been going on over the last few years)
Embryonic Stem-Cell Approvals Rise
A few researchers in Adult stem cells took it to court, and a few days ago, the Federal Appeals court ruled that it was ok for the Federal government to fund this type of research.
Court rules controversial stem cell research is legal
There is a very straightforward fact that, if the embryo is a living thing, which it is, that it is wrong to produce one or to use it for research purposes.
However, there is another fact: They just have not worked.
Here is a list of diseases that embryonic stem cells are thought to potentially help
Stem Cells: 10 Diseases They May—or May Not—Cure
And here are some conditions that adult stem cells have been shown to help
If they look similar, that is not a mistake……because they are largely the same conditions
And yet, the studies keep on going
Stem Cells and Diseases [Stem Cell Information].
Some proponents of embryonic stem cells actually liken the research to Heart Transplants and the trial and error it took to get that “right.” But it is more likely similar to untold numbers of other trials where the data just never meets expectations. Especially when adult stem cells are showing so much promise, to continue to have NIH fund this makes little sense. This is especially true in a Scientific community which has seen budgets shrink for research into conditions that truly effect us all.
The Republican party platform has a “plank” that will stop this funding. and the mainstream media thinks that there is a stealth strategy behind it
It is likely that the media will be saying things like this frequently over the next 70 days, while hiding the references to the Democrat platform, which is very much a reflection of the Culture of Death
St Monica pray for us!
Related articles
- Scientists Turn Adult Red Blood Cells Into Embryonic Stem Cells (emmageraln.com)
- Government allowed to fund embryonic stem cell research, court rules (wjla.com)
- U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Legality of Stem Cell Research (news.sciencemag.org)
- Stanford bioethicist Christopher Scott weighs in on today’s human embryonic stem cell ruling (gabrielcatalano.com)
http://www.stemcellresearchfacts.org
Is an excellent site with a number of short films highlighting adult stem cell “success stories” for people suffering from auto-immune diseases (MS and others), spinal cord injury (SCI), sickle cell anemia, and other conditions. More short films are added periodically. This site does not delve into the ethical controversy but focuses on successes of adult stem cell research and therapies.
Another good short film regarding the stem cell debate can be found at: