Because stem cells comes from aborted babies. The conservative position (as I understand it) is that we don't want to use the stem cells because it would be a de facto endorsement of abortion, which is better called murder. (What else can you call taking a helpless life?)
But...
I have three problems with this traditional position. First, there are other sources of stem cells, for example a mother's "cord blood." There's absolutely no reason to ban *all* research on stem cells even if you accept the proposition that you shouldn't use aborted babies as sources of stem cells.
Secondly, the babies are already dead. Obviously I believe that abortion is wrong, but if the baby is dead, why shouldn't you be allowed to use its body for something that could help people? It's like saying a person who's been murdered shouldn't be allowed to donate a heart or a liver.
Lastly, it can help people! How can it be more moral, more righteous, to throw away a dead embryo and condemn someone to memory loss and eventual death than to use the embryo to cure the person!?! What about people who have been paralyzed by Multiple Sclerosis? Should they be forced to spend the rest of their shortened lives in a wheelchair because we took the "moral high ground" and refused to let the scientists develop a treatment that would heal them?
I'm with Nancy Reagan on this one.
Posted by Blog Jones at May 9, 2004 11:28 PM
| Category: Politics
Some of the research is done on aborted fetuses, adult stem cells, and cord blood. But some is done on "leftover" embryos in fertility clinics. When a couple has trouble conceiving normally and tries for in vitro fertilization, they "produce" several embryos, plant a few in the woman (because of the high failure rate they plant more than one at a time), and freeze the rest for later use. If the couple decides they don't want any more children, the embryos can be donated or destroyed. So the theory is -- why not put them to good use instead of destroying them. But it is still murder.
I wouldn't be against all stem cell research but would be against any that uses embryos.
Posted by: Barbara at May 10, 2004 03:23 PMOh, OK. I can understand not using still-viable embryos. But the other question you have to ask is what are you going to do with them? You can donate them, obviously, but I think that supply would exceed demand. I suppose you could leave the embryos in storage indefinitely, but that would seem to be a temporary solution.
Oh, oh! I know! We can save the embryos in storage for a few years, then build a space ship that will carry the embryos to another planet, where they will grow and populate the planet. That sounds like a reasonable plan to me.
Posted by: Blog Jones at May 10, 2004 05:25 PMI have always been kind of leery of the whole frozen embryos issue. My mom actually had IVF done several years ago and from that our family is now blessed with 6 yr. old triplets. The downside is that she had 11 viable embryos left over, which she donated to other christian couples who have trouble conceiving. I have always thought it weird that i could have 11 half brothers or sisters running around somewhere. Although i love my brothers and sister to death. I think that the better option for my mom would have been to adopt. She had already had two natural children. There are sooo many children who need to be adopted. So my position on the stem cell research would be to exclude embryos all together.
Posted by: Erica at May 10, 2004 10:15 PM"I can understand not using still-viable embryos. But the other question you have to ask is what are you going to do with them?"
I think they shouldn't be created and stored in the first place. Create (though I hate to use that verb in this context) however many you need for the in vitro session you're going to have, but no "extras" for storage.
I do wonder about the long term effects on frozen embryos, anyway....If an embryo has been frozen for two years, then implanted and brought to term -- what health or development problems might it have down the road? This is still so new we don't have those answers yet. And think of the genetic problems if an embryo is donated to someone else, and you have half-siblings out there somewhere, meet, fall in love, and get married, not knowing you're related?
Posted by: Barbara at May 12, 2004 07:07 AM