Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Stem Cell Research & Politics-UPDATES, Scroll Down


What do you say to a guy suffering with a debilitating disease, absolutely convicted about a controversial, non-proven therapy that would involve tax-payers dollars because no private venture will fund it, that is used to promote a political candidate?

John Hawkins expresses my sentiments. I've talked repeatedly about the difference between Embryonic Stem Cell Research versus research on stem cells found in umbilical chord blood, bone marrow, breast milk, and even fat. While the latter actually has already been used and shows great promise, Embryonic Stem Cells don't. Not to mention they are taken from a potential baby that dies that possibly, may give life to someone else.

The implication from the ad is that by voting for the other candidate you're killing Michael J. Fox or at the very least withholding a life-saving cure from him. The ad is exploitive, emotionally manipulative and misleading. Who can respond to this ad without seeming cold and heartless? That's what the Democrats count on, of course. An unanswerable ad, because they are morally superior beings.

I love Michael J. Fox, I think he is funny, smart and has dealt with his disease courageously. I also do not believe American taxpayers should be paying for morally questionable research.

Update: Well, here's a response ad against the Missouri Constitutional Amendment. Holy Cow! Look at the celebs in this one. I hate to even imagine how much it cost to put this thing together. Maybe they're all so filled with purpose, they're doing it for free. Somehow, I doubt it.



Update II: The Anchoress has a fantastic post about all this, that you must read. She sums up with a previous sum up that I some how missed but will include here. Powerful:

That research…made me believe that Embryonic stem cells are like uncut heroin…waaaay, way to powerful to use - they are part of begotten life in its purest form (perhaps still too near to God for our fooling with) - and they are so maleable as to be (so far in research) unpredictable and unusable. And that’s not even getting into the moral and ethical questions of whether or not a human embryo should be exploited in such a way, particularly when Adult Stem Cells are showing remarkable results in everything from helping sufferers of Sickle Cell Anemia and Thallassemias Major and Minor, to spinal injuries, skin regeneration and more.
[…]
And I say that as a woman dealing with a chronic blood illness, and waiting to hear - finally - about a diagnosis that has taken a great deal of time to pinpoint. Both health issues are being looked into with adult stem cells, and that’s good news…I wouldn’t want any treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.

I still feel that way…

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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:38 AM

    I found out yesterday that Mr. Fox goes off his meds when he appears before Congress or does ads such as this...Rush Limbaugh stated yesterday that he doesn't see anything wrong with that (i paraphrase) in order to show the ravages of the disease. But i'm not that lenient. There should at the very least be a statement to that effect otherwise this is voter manipulation. I too have really enjoyed Michael J. Fox and i so regret that this has happened to him, but it does not alter the fact that he is very very wrong on the matter of embryonic stem cell research. c

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  2. Melissa Clouthier11:46 AM

    C,
    Yes, I saw that, too.

    In addition, I saw that the proposed Legislation isn't about ESC research at all, but about cloning--which Missouri has been trying to outlaw and the Leftists would like to enshrine into the constitutiion (if I understand it correctly.)

    Here's the thing, the Democrats hope to obscure the issue enough to make it seem like a straight-foward vote--vote to save Michael J. Fox.

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  3. Anonymous1:05 PM

    and on top of that, it is about FEDERAL funding of ESC (cloning)research because private investors have not been putting the cash behind ESC due to poor..make that catastrophic...side effects. c

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  4. MaxedOutMama2:08 PM

    What's shocking to me is that the medical information is being ignored. From the studies I've read, embryonic stem cells don't seem compatible with a mature body. This "cure" keeps turning out to be worse than the disease. Now adult stem cells seem to be different - but then, they are generated to work in a mature body.

    Well, you can't put new wine in old wineskins, can you?

    Embryonic stem cells are meant to coexist and work with other embryonic stem cells; in middle-aged bodies they seem to run amok and create havoc.

    And geeze, I write this as someone who has been in much worse shape than Michael Fox! I would never, ever accept embryonic stem cell treatment. True, I don't believe it is morally right, but beyond that, I think these treatments are incredibly dangerous, and the studies seem to bear me out.

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  5. Melissa Clouthier4:25 PM

    C & Mama,

    Yes, I don't even talk about the gruesome side-effects of the attempted ESC treatments.

    Not to mention, differentiation of the ESC must occur for it to be used in anyone adult, kid or baby.

    Ultimately, this debate is about abortion. The ESC is a straw man looking to find a "useful" purpose for abortion. Or, this is to just push the envelope of "personal choice."

    Can you imagine the results of ESC going forward? Desperate women selling eggs or being coerced like in South Korea... Talk about a slippery slope.

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  6. Anonymous4:55 PM

    There has been a very well done rebuttal to MJFox's political ad by Jim Caviezel, Kurt Warner and others. I must say this little shenanigan by the Democrats and Michael J Fox have colored my opinion of the former actor So the dems have done Mr. Fox a huge disservice. I already had a low opinion of the democrats so no further harm done there. c

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