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…