Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., last week declared that July would be “Stem Cell Month” in the Senate — making it sound like some holiday sale rather than a divisive and defining cultural issue for American science and medicine. Brownback, the Senate’s most fervent critic of embryonic stem cell research and co-sponsor of the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act, could end the month disappointed, though. The proposals most likely to come up and pass involve expanding the federally funded research that President Bush approved five years ago. That’s what the House has voted to do; if the Senate follows suit, that could well lead to the first veto of Bush’s six years in office.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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41 Comments
Fetus Farming? OMG!
One thing I cannot stand is how politicans carefully word the name of bills. We really need to stop that. Because all your doing is feeding off the emotions of the electorate.
For now on they should just only have the numberical indiciation. S.R. 2035 for example.
Reverend Sam needs to move to some mountain top and chant at the moon, for all the good he’s doing for us!
Sam could use a good strong dose of stem cells, himself.
Yes, preferably from a Hari Krishna person, and then Sam would be complete.
Sam you incompetent fuck.
How many victims of spinal cord injury do you personally know Sam?Ever wiped ass for someone who can’t help themselves?
Hate to burst your fantasy bubble, but there is a real world out there.
Put down your Bible and do what’s right for the country!!
I think vetoing an expanded stem cell research bill would be decided political loser for the Republicans. Will Bush do it? I am betting he won’t, but it could be interesting.
The moral argument for harvesting the unborn to suit our needs is quite weak.
Wow, I just read an entire WE Blog that it appears everyone is in agreement…
Quick, someone email Randy…
;-)
Brokeback, er, i mean Brownback needs to find a new rock on which to stand… (Preferably in another state…)
“Instead of engaging in fraud and coverup, or conducting experiments that violate the moral principles of many citizens, we should look to scientific creativity for an answer. Since the cloning fraud, many scientists — such as Markus Grompe at Oregon Health & Science University and Rudolf Jaenisch at MIT — have been doing just that. And others, such as Kevin Eggan at Harvard, may have found a technique, called “cell fusion,” that would create new, versatile, genetically controlled stem cell lines by fusing existing stem cells and ordinary DNA. Scientists in Japan just announced that they may have found a way to do this without even needing an existing stem cell line.
“In other words: all the benefits of research cloning without the ethical problems. Looking ahead, it is becoming increasingly likely that reprogramming adult cells to pluripotency, rather than destroying human embryos, will be the future of regenerative medicine. It offers both a more efficient and far more ethical way forward.
“Of course, we should not pin all our hopes on any particular technique, which is why the bill co-sponsored by Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter (usually sharp opponents in the stem cell fight) would fund any creative proposal for advancing stem cell research without destroying nascent human life. Too often in this debate, science and ethics are regarded as being on a collision course. They need not be. For what could be more pro-science than relying upon scientific ingenuity to lead the way to stem cell advances without conducting unethical cloning experiments?”
Robert P. George is McCormick professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics. Eric Cohen is a fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and editor of the New Atlantis.
© 2006 The Washington Post
Whole op/ed here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/05/AR2006070501376.html
LAUREN, it’s obvious you don’t know squat about science, or facts in this issue.You don’t work for Bush or Brokeback do you?
Harvesting the unborn is about as far from the truth (in stem cell research) as you can get.
OH NO THOSE AWFUL LIBS WANT TO EAT OUR BABIES!!INVASION OF THE BABY SNATCHERS!!
Tracy, there are legitimate moral concerns regarding this issue, and Senator Brownback serves us well to raise them.
I do not know what his position is with regard to the proposal by Senators Spector and Santorum that DD posted, but that proposal would seem to be reasonable to me.
There WOULD BE legitimate concerns if we were talking about abortions and “harvesting the unborn”, but that just all political buzz words meant to stir the emotions of the misinformed public.Talk about mantra!!
“Harvesting the unborn”?
We are talking here of unused embryos on ice. There are thousands of them! Hundreds more are created every day! It is not remotely realistic to speculate that even a tiny number of them will ever be “born”.
JR: Numbers do not change the nature of a human embryo.
Out,
They trash those embryos. Dump ‘em in the garbage. You know that, right? Doesn’t it make more sense to use them to help others?
In the link I posted above it reports that there are three bills in the Senate. One of them proposes using discarded embryos from fertility clinics. The op/ed piece I linked and quoted part of, says that there are better ways to achieve the same ends without needing embryos — which meets the medical treatment needs and is not bogged down with the ethical dilemmas cloning and using embryos have. If what those authors report is true, it sure seems like a no-brainer to me.
Ok Out
What destiny do YOU suggest for frozen unused embryos? Are they to be stored indefinitely? Who pays for that? If no one pays for storage the embryos are just disposed of. Is that a better destiny than the potetential to cure disease and relieve suffering?
This time you beat me RD!
Why stop at embyros? Why not just harvest children for spare parts? Kids are expendible, right? We can always make more, right?
Ok, if that’s a problem how about just Jewish or Black children?
Let’s explore this moral issue you want to ignore.
LRB,uh…how did the discussion on embryos go to ‘harvesting’ live children?
“uh…how did the discussion on embryos go to ‘harvesting’ live children?”
What’s the difference? Oh, yes, 9+ months.
Please see my link, in it the authors explain that the “extra embryos” will not meet treatment and especially research needs.
There better ways than using embryos currently and these methods will improve over time. I think this moral debate has been rendered moot.
What I fear we’re going to find out is how over-hyped the potential outcomes of regenerative medicine have been. I don’t think new spinal cords are just over the horizon.
Lauren if you weren’t so damned smug it would actually be funny!Do you really believe that crock of shit that somebody has been feeding you? Harvesting children?
PUH-LEEZE!!!!
You sound like Stephen Colbert doing parody.
Stephen:Oh, you’re into stem cell research?Scientist:Yes, and we believe we can cure the most terrible afflictions ever known to mankind.Stephen:So tell me why you hate children and want to kill them?
(you get the idea)
Shades of Nathan!
“PUH-LEEZE!!!!”
Do me a favor.
Take your entire moral argument that makes harvesting stems cells as permissible and change the words “Stem Cells” to Jew. Then re-read how it sounds and get back to us.
Oh well, I guess sometimes spraying and being sprayed with spittle is more important than looking at the facts. Why am I not surprised?
Anti-abortion activists have no problem with infertile couples creating dozens of “unborn children” in the laboratory . . . because that’s for REPRODUCTION, even if only one out of three dozen will actually have a chance to be born.
You can do anything you want with the other unborn babies . . . flush ‘em down the stool, the anti-abortion crowd doesn’t care . . . as long as you don’t USE THEM FOR SCIENCE, for heaven’s sake.
It’s okay. Some European country is already eating our lunch on this research. We can always go overseas to get our spinal cords regenerated.
“If 6 were 9,I don’t mind…”
JR, as you said on another thread, like minds and all that. :)
“Take your entire moral argument that makes harvesting stems cells as permissible and change the words “Stem Cells” to Jew. Then re-read how it sounds and get back to us.”
OMG, up until that post I thought that blogger was serious!Sigh, yes, I have looked up gullible in the dictionary :P
Jimi Hendrix brings up a good point that’s been bugging me for ages and ages…why is there no lobbying against IVF? Unborn fetuses are killed; as many as 10-12 at a time! How is this any different from abortion?Ok, I’m gonna stop blogarting (I have been lurking a little bit, hee!)
“OMG, up until that post I thought that blogger was serious!Sigh, yes, I have looked up gullible in the dictionary :P”
Oh. Oh. I just looked at his other posts. I feel like an idiot.
Tara,
“why is there no lobbying against IVF”I don’t know the answer to that, but I am aware of a Christian organization that promotes the ADOPTION rather than the destruction of embryos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryo_adoption
LRB, equating stem cell research with Jews (and therefore the holocaust) is about the sickest, most idiotic straw man argument I’ve heard in a awhile.
For research = for genocide.
That’s some logic.
Yeah, I’m an engineer too.Whoop-tee-doo!
I hope you are a little more logical in your engineering.
Hi Tara, you lurker, you. How’s it been?
LRB, IF YOU FEEL SO BAD WHY NOT USE YOUR FUNDS TO ADOBT ALL FETUSES AND BRING THEM TO TERM?
Step up to the plate and show us your tears are real.
I’ve heard of embryo adoption, and I think it’s a good alternative to donor eggs. The problem is, most people want their genetic material passed on, and will only choose that if there is no other alternative.
Like another poster said, only a small percentage of in vitro embryos will survive the culture process, and those that do survive only have modest chance of growing to term in utero. Along the way, many, many embryos that are created are then destroyed, more than in abortion. However, it’s treated like a “cluck cluck” issue rather than “OMG MURDER!” I don’t see the difference, though. Both rub me the wrong way, but I wouldn’t lobby against couples having IVF because of my personal feelings.
XXX, just got back to the island last weekend, but I haven’t had time to hit the beach yet :(
Embryos that are created die because of the process, even if they are not necessarily destroyed. Wanted to clarify.
Hey you bastards,While you are arguing the finer points of morality in your ivory towers, there are people, human beings all, who are suffering intolerable pain, and need this research to continue at all speed possible! In the mean time, you won’t even allow them the luxury of ending their pain with narcotics or assisted suicide. If you think suffering is such a great thing, do it yourself; don’t make others do it so you can watch and speculate on what they must have done to deserve it!
Jed, my Momma resents your opening remark!
Other than that, I agree with your post.
Rather than worry about microscopic clusters of cells, why not lobby to end AIDS and starvation, here and abroad.
Tracy,You weren’t included amongst the bastards, and those of you that were got that way without your momma’s help!Agreed on AIDS and starvation, but those are only a few of the causes of human suffering. We desperately need solutions to many others, and stem cell research seems to be the way to go on some of them. This, along with other areas of study, needs to be done as soon as safely possible! Arguing interminably over the rights of a zygote deprives many thousands of people of their right to live!