Watching history...
Don't forget... today may be the day that President Bush exercises his FIRST veto ever... to ban federal funding for new lines of embryonic stem-cell research.
What a "perfect" way to break a "perfect" streak. Veto something that might actually do some good for some people, without harming anyone, and without costing billions of dollars a day.
Keep in mind, though, that even this proposal is not the end of the debate. All it says is that any embryos that are currently in storage in fertility clinics can be opened up to research. In addition, it does not allow for the "destruction" of embryos in order to create the new stem-cell lines - sure to be a limiting factor. It also prohibits a procedure called "therapeutic cloning," which is a form of cloning used to imbue stem cells with the proper genetic information, potentially greatly reducing the risk of rejection of the structures created by the stem cells.
What a "perfect" way to break a "perfect" streak. Veto something that might actually do some good for some people, without harming anyone, and without costing billions of dollars a day.
Keep in mind, though, that even this proposal is not the end of the debate. All it says is that any embryos that are currently in storage in fertility clinics can be opened up to research. In addition, it does not allow for the "destruction" of embryos in order to create the new stem-cell lines - sure to be a limiting factor. It also prohibits a procedure called "therapeutic cloning," which is a form of cloning used to imbue stem cells with the proper genetic information, potentially greatly reducing the risk of rejection of the structures created by the stem cells.
posted by Minister of Propaganda @ 7/19/2006 09:10:00 AM
5 Comments:
At July 20, 2006 4:59 PM,
Gloatmaster2006 said…
Keep in mind that this only prohibits Federal Funding. Private research is still possible. I would also ask the question that if this line of research is so promising, while hasn't private money been raised?
At July 21, 2006 11:27 AM,
Minister of Propaganda said…
A few problems with your comment:
1- Yes, private funding of this research is still possible. However, public funding augments and legitimizes private funding in a major way. We need a mixture of both types of funding if we are to be innovators in this field. Whatever happened to the "conservative" philosophy of American Exceptionalism? Why should we, the "greatest country in the world," take a back seat in scientific innovation just because of Bush's "ethics" problem?
2- There IS private funding, but, as stated above, BOTH types of funding are needed. One of the problems with this split between private and public funding is that research centers find themselves having to build TWO laboratories IF they accept public and private funds, as NO federal funds - including the facilities built with those funds - cannot be used for embryonic stem cell research that is not approved by Bush's standing 2001 measure. Private funding then has to "go farther" - and often there is not enough to build AND staff AND supply those facilities.
Do you agree with Bush? Or do you think America should be at the forefront of scientific innovation? Keep in mind that THESE EMBRYOS WOULD BE DESTROYED ANYWAY with or without the research. Until I see women lined up outside fertility clinics willing to impregnate themselves with these "snowflakes," I say we not let these "lives" go to waste!
At August 08, 2006 10:43 AM,
Anonymous said…
Here are some links that I believe will be interested
At August 12, 2006 1:32 AM,
Anonymous said…
I'm impressed with your site, very nice graphics!
»
At August 17, 2006 7:04 AM,
Anonymous said…
Looks nice! Awesome content. Good job guys.
»
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home