Obama today lifted the 8 year ban on federal funding for stem-cell research by executive order. Given the headlines I thought this would be a good time to resurface the (friendly) debate.
I read the book by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell almost 10 years ago- about Dolly the sheep, about biomedical research, and about it’s promises. Here is my argument supporting stem cell research.
Do you know anyone with one or more of the following?
Parkinsons, Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia, lymphoma, liver disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, brain disease, blindness, deafness, HIV, or aids?
Studies show these can all be treated or even cured using stem cell treatment. Recently, there are reports of a low-cost procedure to -cure- heart attacks using stem cells (see link below).
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-415156/Stem-cell-cure-heart-attacks.html
What’s more important? The survival of an embryonic cell or the survival of the boy in the article below? His fatal disease was -cured- using stem cells.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/07/science/sci-stem7
Some individuals say killing embryonic cells is equivalent to murder- but by that logic don’t I commit mass murder every time I sneeze, or scratch my arm, as both actions kill millions of cells?
Shane- read the title of my question- i am not misinformed. You just are’nt reading the question
I’m breaking out the champagne for A LOT of things he’s done this short week. Good for him. People who are against stem cell research are more commonly misinformed on what it is and don’t understand the science of it. I hope we get some good results from this research soon because it’s been a LONG time coming.
And yes bush didn’t ban the research but he banned federal funding which is how a lot of companies and researchers get their money. So it did put a HUGE damper in being able to research and having pharmacy companies even wanting to try. Again some people don’t know what they are talking about.
Anyway, Hooray Obama!