Stem Cells 2008 Issue

Trib has a fairly decent story on stem cells. Sun Times story here. (Compare to the Sun Times editorial, granted, an opinion piece, but typical of the Left which blindly hypes embryonic stem cells only as justification for abortion. The Dems in Congress are trying to broadly expand the limited federal funding). It is a step in the right direction for policy decisions to be "guided by facts rather than hype". Let us hope our friends on the Left take this to heart as well. Trib:

Snyder said such tests can ensure that policy decisions are guided by facts rather than hype. "I think what you'll find is in some diseases one cell type is preferred, for others another type is preferred, and with some diseases different cells may work equally well," Snyder said. "Rather than say what we think is going to work, we should just fund the work and let the data dictate the next step."

That is all very well when individual human life is not at stake when pursuing scientific inquiry, but ethics needs to weigh in here as well. As the Trib story states:

Researchers usually get the cells by taking apart 5-day-old embryos for couples undergoing fertility treatment. Concern over the destruction of embryos spurred Bush's policy, which has banned funding for stem cells extracted from human embryos since 2001.

Of course private funding for this ethically controversial research remains unrestricted. Local commentary on the article at Illinois Review.

For now, thankfully Congress lacks the votes to override the expected Bush veto, and as the story shows, there are viable alternatives to the ethically abhorrent embryonic stem cells, which have yet to cure anyone of anything.

Stem cells continue to be a political football for the 2008 election, as presidential candidates jockey for position and the issue will be on the ballot then in Florida. Justin Miller at RCP.