Posted by
michael
on from the if-only-it-were-that-easy dept.
roman_mir writes "Wired reports that a 16 year old teenager had a hole in his heart (a nail gun accident,) which was repaired by injecting stem cells directly into his heart. What is interesting is that the stem cells were taken from the boy's own blood."
There is no ethical/moral consideration about using stem cells - it's using embryonic stem cells that everyone kicks up a fuss about - and they are being used for study, they are not practical to be used for actual treatment.
You're absolutely correct. Unfortunately, the term "stem cell" has become so tainted by the pro life crowd and W's faith-based opposition that at this point most folks don't know the difference, and don't realize that every human body produces stem cells. Ask the average American where stem cells come from. I guarantee that in most cases, the answer will be "unborn babies," even though that's not at all accurate. It's a reflection of the power of the moral "majority" over the general populace. (I put "majority" in quotes just as I write off the fantasy that African-Americans are the "minority" in Memphis, even though they continue to demand "minority" treatment here.)
Yes, fetuses are a veritable font of neverending stem cells, but that's not the only place they come from. What really irks me is that while abortion is perfectly legal (as well it should be), there's controversy surrounding the use of fetal stem cells. I don't understand why it's such an issue. Let's see, we have two choices,
a) Pregnant woman gets abortion, fetus is disposed of as biohazard
b) Pregnant woman gets abortion, embryonic stem cells are harvested for medical research
I can't grasp why people find option b horrifying. The abortions are going to happen anyway; we might as well get some medical benefit from the process. Every one of us, no matter what we do or don't believe in, is human. We all stand to benefit from this research.
Re:Own Stem Cells
by
melee
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Abortion isn't about population control. It's about correcting the mistakes of stupid people. You want to lower the birth rate you do it through education and building a middle class. (Which is, not coincidentally, the same way to improve standard of living.)
Or, if you don't care about civil society, by trying to legislate your way out of it. (This is my not-so-subtle dig at China.)
While we're at it, that's not a fact. It's a naive supposition. And not a very well formulated one at that.
Slashdot Mirror
I guess it's not interesting if by 'interesting' you mean provocative... if so you are correct.
I think it's very interesting to see good medicine being advanced.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Yes, fetuses are a veritable font of neverending stem cells, but that's not the only place they come from. What really irks me is that while abortion is perfectly legal (as well it should be), there's controversy surrounding the use of fetal stem cells. I don't understand why it's such an issue. Let's see, we have two choices,
a) Pregnant woman gets abortion, fetus is disposed of as biohazard
b) Pregnant woman gets abortion, embryonic stem cells are harvested for medical research
I can't grasp why people find option b horrifying. The abortions are going to happen anyway; we might as well get some medical benefit from the process. Every one of us, no matter what we do or don't believe in, is human. We all stand to benefit from this research.
Abortion isn't about population control. It's about correcting the mistakes of stupid people. You want to lower the birth rate you do it through education and building a middle class. (Which is, not coincidentally, the same way to improve standard of living.)
Or, if you don't care about civil society, by trying to legislate your way out of it. (This is my not-so-subtle dig at China.)
While we're at it, that's not a fact. It's a naive supposition. And not a very well formulated one at that.