2008 Woodie Awards
Is stem cell research OK? NO
The people opposed to stem cell research should not have to pay the taxes
By: Evan Ortega
Issue date: 9/16/04 Section: Insight
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Embryonic stem cell research involves the use of stem cells extracted from human embryos, which are human fetuses in the early stages of life.
In our current moral and political climate, it is a perfectly legal and everyday event for human fetuses to be murdered in America under the term known as abortion. It is becoming more common for "aborted" fetuses to be recycled and resold as specimens for medical research in a fashion similar to that reserved for lab rats and monkeys. It's even more common these days for the federal government to fund studies using embryonic stem cells with the money of taxpayers who come from a broad and shifting moral plateau.
The national debate concerning embryonic stem cell research lies largely with the federal funding aspect of the issue.
Both sides of the abortion debate have long ago adopted a fight-to-the-end position on the matter, which is why one wouldn't expect a compromise on whether to federally fund embryonic stem cell research. A compromise did arrive though, when during the summer of 2001 in the form of political maneuvering, President Bush allowed for limited federal funding for stem cell research. Strings attached helped ensure that only research conducted on previously stored embryos would receive federal money. This concession is outrageous, given the fact that many Americans are opposed to any sort of embryonic stem cell research, especially with their own tax money. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on unregulated embryonic stem cell research in the private sector with much more being made available. Imagine the market for destroyed human embryos as a result of the medical and the science communities' growing hunger for stem cell related cures to beat big diseases. Embryonic stem cells were only isolated in 1998 and there is still much research to be conducted in order to understand the new potential. Even with federal funding, there is plenty of work to be done.
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that embryonic stem cell treatments for Alzheimer's, heart disease and paralysis are years away at best.
In our current moral and political climate, it is a perfectly legal and everyday event for human fetuses to be murdered in America under the term known as abortion. It is becoming more common for "aborted" fetuses to be recycled and resold as specimens for medical research in a fashion similar to that reserved for lab rats and monkeys. It's even more common these days for the federal government to fund studies using embryonic stem cells with the money of taxpayers who come from a broad and shifting moral plateau.
The national debate concerning embryonic stem cell research lies largely with the federal funding aspect of the issue.
Both sides of the abortion debate have long ago adopted a fight-to-the-end position on the matter, which is why one wouldn't expect a compromise on whether to federally fund embryonic stem cell research. A compromise did arrive though, when during the summer of 2001 in the form of political maneuvering, President Bush allowed for limited federal funding for stem cell research. Strings attached helped ensure that only research conducted on previously stored embryos would receive federal money. This concession is outrageous, given the fact that many Americans are opposed to any sort of embryonic stem cell research, especially with their own tax money. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on unregulated embryonic stem cell research in the private sector with much more being made available. Imagine the market for destroyed human embryos as a result of the medical and the science communities' growing hunger for stem cell related cures to beat big diseases. Embryonic stem cells were only isolated in 1998 and there is still much research to be conducted in order to understand the new potential. Even with federal funding, there is plenty of work to be done.
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that embryonic stem cell treatments for Alzheimer's, heart disease and paralysis are years away at best.