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Obama To Reverse Bush Limits On Stem Cell Work
An anonymous reader sends this quote from the Associated Press:
"Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama plans to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells. ... Under President George W. Bush, taxpayer money for that research was limited to a small number of stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001, lines that in many cases had some drawbacks that limited their potential usability. But hundreds more of such lines — groups of cells that can continue to propagate in lab dishes — have been created since then, ones that scientists say are healthier, better suited to creating treatments for people rather than doing basic laboratory science. Work didn't stop. Indeed, it advanced enough that this summer, the private Geron Corp. will begin the world's first study of a treatment using human embryonic stem cells, in people who recently suffered a spinal cord injury. Nor does Obama's change fund creation of new lines. But it means that scientists who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches."
Indeed, and now that a reliable method of making stem cells WITHOUT KILLING has been invented.
Asshole.
Adults with imaginary friends should be given medical help, not Slashdot accounts.
Even what the article implies is incorrect. President George W. Bush was the first president to allow ANY federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. So let's go over it. President George W. Bush:
did not ban embryonic stem cell research
did not ban federal funding of embryonic stem cell research
did not REDUCE federal funding of embryonic stem cell research
Contrary to these first three ideas, George W. Bush actually provided the first federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Adult stem cell research is only at a nascent stage though, primarily because you had biomedical researchers acting like children in the US and elsewhere that banned embryonic stem cell research. Some went abroad but many railed against the "substitute" stem cells claiming for purposes of research or therapy they were inferior or even worthless and refused to work on adult stem cell research out of "principle". Adult stem cells can in fact be manipulated to acting like embryonic stem cells and in fact offer a far more likely therapeutic target since they can be derived from the person receiving treatment. There are now some emerging theories that tie the malfunction of adult (somatic) stem cells to things like cancer, type II diabetes and even some muscular degenerative diseases. These are the sort of things that we can realistically solve with stem cell research and it does not matter which kind, so why would they use embryonic stem cells? To us pro-lifers out there on the left this is a further dehumanization of human life and is inexcusable on both scientific and moral grounds. No embryonic stem cell research has ever produced a viable therapy but adult stem cells have.
Shame on Barack Obama for being morally indifferent to human life and scientifically illiterate on this issue.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
You think that Asia is the paradigm of abortion ethics? And you have a problem with my morality?
All I can say is that I'm glad that you're arguing for the other side.
Why will these never grow to become a fetus or a fully formed infant? Because their lives are cut off. I don't know where you get the 80% figure for zygotes failing to implant- the research I've seen quotes something in the range of 1/3 or so- but even granting your figure, the fact that some fertilized embryos die naturally doesn't provide any justification for killing them by the boatload for research which, despite all the messianic talk from Democratic politicians looking to make political hay since 2001, hasn't shown that using embryonic cells rather than adult cells will result in major cures.
So the only human life that matters is conscious human life? The next time you fall asleep it's time to harvest your organs.
If that's so, why the profane attacks on those who think we ought to tread carefully in using embryonic cells?
One of the most frightening and chilling statements ever uttered on Slashdot. This is exactly the sort of moral relativism that this issue promotes. If it's already gone this far, give it 50 years.
Oh, for crying out loud. The concept of sacrificing one life to save countless others is "chilling" "moral relativism"?
I'm sorry to say it, but if you prefer letting many living, thinking people suffer and die rather than accept the death of a few lives that weren't even concious thinking beings in the first place, you are morally bankrupt beyond all belief.
Pst, pro-lifers/religious right.... pretty much all of their belief system is built on the idea of a giant invisible man telling them how to live. If that's not ignorant I dunno what is. I know you think pointing out a logical fallacy will help but really it'll just make them lash out in frustration. Living as a hypocrite is hard when people shove it in your face. And it'll never get them to rethink their ways anyways you are just testing their faith(aka ability to ignore logic).
...but nothing ever "happens" under Obama?
I mean, Obama "tried" to undo executive power grab, but now supports the same in Court.
Obama "tried" to stop further bailouts, but now argues for the same.
Obama "tried" out to stop DEA in states where drugs are legal, but fails...
I mean, Obama is the perfect Manchurian Candidate. Isn't he?
(and NO, am NOT a supporter of Rush. But I prefer Ron Paul over Obama anyday, and i prefer anybody over Bush.)
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer