Stem Cells

President Bush, the worst president in American history, is on television right now explaining why he is signing a bill that would make research on embryonic stem cells with federal funding illegal. He "reasons" that embryonic stem cells represent a viable human being, and to use them is to "destroy human life." He has many reasons for feeling that way, chief among them are his being an asshole and a religious fanatic. If he really felt that the use of embryonic stem cells represents murder, then why stop at restricting federal funding? Why not charge scientists with murder? The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which was founded by the late billionaire, is worth about $16 billion, and last year they gave out $490 million to various medical researchers around the country. A significant portion of that money goes to embryonic stem cell research. I found at least 14 HHMI grant recipients who use some form of stem cells in their research. One such recipient of HHMI funds works out of Columbia University, his name is Thomas Jessell. In July of 2002, he published a study in Cell magazine that reported progress with these cells to replace damaged motor neurons in the human brain. The study was also partially-funded by Project A.L.S, which is dedicated to eliminating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Again, my question to those who agree with eliminating federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is simple: Why not charge scientists like Thomas Jessell with murder? I'd love to hear, or read, the reasons.

So what is an embryonic stem cell? It's a cell from an embryo that is five days old. At that point, the embryo is called a blastocyst, and is made up of about 150 cells. A blastocyst has no heart, brain, liver, kidneys, spine...or anything. That's what makes it so valuable in medical research. The cells in a blastocyst go on to form many different kinds of cells, thus the term "stem cell." Anti-abortionists like to say that abortion stops a beating heart, but there is no beating heart here, just a very small mass of cells. All the talk of "killing one life to save another" is a lie, meant to compel an emotional reaction.

I decided to do a little research on how other countries deal with the stem cell debate. Is the US out there on her own, looking like a twit, much like we are on socialized medicine? Basically, yes. Nations like France, UK, Denmark, Japan, Australia, China, India, Canada and Israel all allow government funding for research. And we're in great company. Every African nation, with the exception of South Africa, has a ban on government funding of ES cell research. So once again, the US is on the cutting edge of the 18th century.

It also struck me as ironic that Bush is responsible for a war that is impossible to justify, and many injured veterans returning from that war are paralyzed. Those paralyzed veterans have one hope of being cured of their disability; stem cell research. By blocking federal funding for ES cell research, Bush is making it much less likely that a major leap forward will be made in their lifetimes. Isn't that just like him?