Funny how the same people who don’t want a mosque in New York because, among other things, they are afraid of Muslim Sharia law eventually being enacted here have no problem imposing their religion-based laws on us.
A U.S. district judge on Monday blocked the federal government from funding all research involving human embryonic stem cells on the grounds that it violates a 1996 law intended to prevent the destruction of of human embryos.
The ruling came in the form of a preliminary injunction in a case involving two scientists who challenged the Obama administration’s stem cell funding policy, which was designed to expand federal support for the controversial research.
Embryonic stem cell researchers said the decision would throw the field into turmoil.
“The long-term practical impact is a massive halt to most embryonic stem cell research in the U.S.” said Dr. Irving Weissman, director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
[...]
The scientists who challenged the guidelines argued that Dickey-Wicker also forbids the use of federal funds for any subsequent research on those stem cells, even if the embryos they came from had been destroyed years before.
[...]
Advanced Cell Technology Inc. is using the cells to grow retinal pigment epithelium cells that restored vision in rats and mice with a rare childhood disease called Stargardt’s macular dystrophy. [...] “This is criminal,” Lanza said. “We are talking about people going blind, people who are dying from a terrifying array of diseases.”
Wouldn’t it make sense for the people who now won’t be helped by this research be taken care of financially and otherwise by those who oppose this research?
#75 “Win-win or No deal”. I like it!!
Now I definitely need to read that book. I have at least one of his books somewhere.
Nice photo of a blastula. Does it have a soul yet?
I’m sure I’ll offend many on this blog by saying this, but it’s all pretty simple to me. Embryos, stem cells, etc belong to two people, the provider of the sperm and the provider of the egg. They are joint, equal and exclusive owners. Whatever happens to the embryo or any of its parts is solely to be determined by the joint owners. Judges, religious fanatics and society be damned. It’s none of their business. If the joint owners decide to sell or donate their property to science or flush it down the toilet, it’s none of your business. Until that embryo is born and old enough to declare its independence from its parents/owners, all the decisions regarding that creation rests on its creators or those with whom decision making has been conferred.
Now, I’m sure you moralists will come out the woodwork to exclaim how immoral this viewpoint is. Let me ask you this question: what makes your morals any better than mine? As far as I’m concerned, the best people to make a decision for a child are its parents until it is old enough to make its own decisions. And the number of children who suffer from incompetent parents would far underweigh (is that a word?) the amount of children who do suffer under the present system of foster care, underground child exploitation, and the like.
Oh, and to address the issue at hand, I HIGHLY disagree with federal research funding of ANYTHING. These funds are stolen monies and should be returned immediately. Those individuals who want to support this research should be able to do so and those who oppose it shouldn’t be forced to. Government likes to make things complicated so we can get into arguments of what should and shouldn’t be done with “government funding”.
Why does Americans United for Life want to kill grandma?
It seems to me that many of the same people who were fear mongering over “death pannels” which would “kill gandma” are the same people that want to prevent research which would save grandma.
Camacho, #69:
“Stem-cell research is about making money, creating hybrid slaves, and supermen.”
That’s a slipperly slope argument if I ever heard one. Try again.
“It is unethical. They don’t care about people with problems. If they do, they are going to charge for it like hell.”
That argument has been made for all sorts of things, where it didn’t turn out to be the case. And who is to say it’s unethical? According to whose code of ethics? Bible thumpers? Yeah, right. Research itself is not unethical; science is neutral…it’s what you do with the results of that research that might be considered unethical.
Irrelevant,
So to cover this argument from another angle- An adult is in a coma, but that person’s doctor believes it can be reasonably expected he/she will come out of it in 7-9 months. Is it okay to harvest his/her organs, or just pull the plug since he/she is incapable of stopping it, just because it is inconvenient or expensive to keep them alive? This is not a straw man argument–the fertilized egg (zygote/embryo whatever) has ever bit as much potential for contribution to humanity as the adult.
Nope, that is a straw man argument. Unless you can link to a case where a doctor accurately predicted the person would be in the coma for a specific number of months.
A person gains specific rights and recognition upon birth. So your coma patient has rights and expectations a fetus doesn’t.
An incarcerated, convicted murder/rapist/child molester currently has more protection and “civil liberties” under federal law than an unborn fetus of 6 months. And they don’t have to pay for cable…
Another bull shit straw man argument. A fetus isn’t a person. Nor is a dog and the murderer has more rights than a dog too.
And since the constitution was brought up by so many of you– Moslems (or whoever) have a right to build a house of worship anywhere they can afford it. The whole “separation of church and state” argument was designed to keep the government out of places of worship, not to keep theist beliefs out of government.
Please read Common Sense, The Federalist Papers and the Constitution, and if you still have the time to opine so strongly, perhaps you can add something even more productive to the discussion…
The way the Constitution was written, and interpreted by the Supreme Court, you are wrong again. That is what matters, not what someone living at the time wanted it to mean. Wanting your theocracy to control the government is what the Taliban and Iranian Ayatollahs want. But, that isn’t what our Constitution allows or America stands for. And we are thankful for that.
Looks like the oats I blew all over Hillary’s stomach
Imagine the biosphere were defined as a womb, and all of you, nascent human life…do you believe in God’s right to choose?
I do.
Tax ALL organized religion and either our money problems will be solved and/or the religion as government will also.
Interesting bumper sticker…
IF IT AIN’T KING JAMES IT AIN’T BIBLE
Is that seen anywhere outside the South? Do those people know anything about King James and “his” bible?
So legalize murder?
That is a religious law that is imposed on us all..
Dipshit conservatives strike again.
Where’s the Stem?
Again, the scientific community as a whole, supports embryonic stem cell research and believes it’s needed right now to advance their research.
All the other back and forth here is just noise.
@AppleIIguy, #91 – You don’t need religion to determine murder is wrong. An example of a religious law is recognizing a holy day or not eating pork. Examples of secular law is do not steal, kill or defraud others. I can see how you can get confused because both types of law are exemplified in your holey bible. Try to stop and think for a second before posting next time…
Why are you all so pressed? Is anyone forcing you to give up your embryos for scientific research? The owners of those embryos donated them. It has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business. How much better the world would be if people just minded their own business. Sheesh!
No one has produced a link to a scientific study that shows without doubt that an embryo is really human?
Not one link? None?
Myself I am all for adult stem cell use. Not because of so-called morals, but because it keeps inane monkeys from crying foul over “potential human life” from being used and abused all the while the birthed kids are used and abused and treated like 3rd class citizens of The Republic.
Yeah kid, before you get out of the womb we’re all here for ya. After that, you’re on your own. And hell when you reach 216 months we’ll even send you to kill and die for us. How’s that sound son?
Give a monkey a brain.
Cursor_
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/embryo
embryo /em·bryo/ (em´bre-o)
1. in animals, those derivatives of the zygote that eventually become the offspring, during their period of most rapid growth, i.e., from the time the long axis appears until all major structures are represented.
2. in humans, the developing organism from fertilization to the end of the eighth week. Cf. fetus.
Anyone know if sperm possess self-awareness? How do those little buggers know how and where to swim? They are certainly a living organism? Can they feel pain?
I’m a little concerned because I may be unwittingly responsible for mass murder.
Just keep your damned religion out of our science. You’re polluting the gene pool we are trying to clean up.
#98 I really don’t know the answer to that. The thing I know is that you’re a brainless sheeple that doesn’t say a thing unless directed by its headmaster. So maybe we should also debate if you’re a living organism that can feel shame.