Life And Death
Embryonic stem cells have not been used to treat a single disease. Science has been promising miracles from this line of research, yet has been unable to produce any real results. The mainstream media and the left have tried to blame this on President Bush`s ``ban`` on stem cell research-which we all know is nothing more than his unwillingness for the Federal Government to fund any research on new lines of embryos (remember, an embryo will become a baby if left in the proper conditions to mature; we are not talking about mere cells.)
There is a form of stem-cell research which has been paying off-and paying off bountifully. The blood in umbilical cords is reach with stem-cells, and they do not have to harvest an embryo to obtain them! The proof in the pudding is in the eating, and umbilical stem-cells have provided a fine feast indeed! Why this continued insistence on using embryos when we have a better alternative?
This issue is, essentially, about abortion. The Deathheads want to get people used to the view that human life should be treated as medical material because it fosters a more clinical view of life, which makes abortion and euthanasia more palatable. Life becomes a personal and medical decision, not a moral one. The individual attains the godhead if he or she can control life. Embryonic stem-cells, by promising a cornucopia of medical benefits, defeats one of the fundamental pro-life arguments; that abortion and euthanasia have no true social benefits but are merely for the convenience of the individual. Killing embryos to cure disease pulls the rug out from under that particular line of argument. That is why it is so important to use embryonic stem cells! Umbilical stem cell research destroys the left`s entire plan!
Anyone who has read Larry Niven`s fiction should be aware of the ``organ bank problem``. Essentially, Niven worried that increases in medical technology would allow for easy transplantation of human organs, which would then increase demand for those organs to a point where the average citizen would be willing to live in a totalitarian state so as to continue the flow of these ``medical materials``. The state started forcing condemned criminals to become involuntary organ donors, then due to the high demand for transplant material (by replacing organs as fast as they wear out you can greatly extend your life expectancy, according to Niven) more and more crimes became capital offenses-up to and including too many traffic tickets! Everyone lived in fear of the Law. What Niven was illustrating with these stories is the slippery slope our pursuit of immortality and our own benefit can tread upon. Embryonic stem cell research is a piece of this same mindset-this view of human life as so much medical material to be used as we see fit or discarded. If Niven`s nightmare vision about organ transplantation technology is correct, embryonic stem cell research is the doorway to a terrible place. (One of the benefits of stem cell research will be an easing of transplant rejections according to its promoters.)
We have two roads before us. One takes us to respect for life and a world of moral dignity, the other to a place of objectification of our Humanity and blood sacrifice on the alter of convenience. Which way shall we travel?
There is a form of stem-cell research which has been paying off-and paying off bountifully. The blood in umbilical cords is reach with stem-cells, and they do not have to harvest an embryo to obtain them! The proof in the pudding is in the eating, and umbilical stem-cells have provided a fine feast indeed! Why this continued insistence on using embryos when we have a better alternative?
This issue is, essentially, about abortion. The Deathheads want to get people used to the view that human life should be treated as medical material because it fosters a more clinical view of life, which makes abortion and euthanasia more palatable. Life becomes a personal and medical decision, not a moral one. The individual attains the godhead if he or she can control life. Embryonic stem-cells, by promising a cornucopia of medical benefits, defeats one of the fundamental pro-life arguments; that abortion and euthanasia have no true social benefits but are merely for the convenience of the individual. Killing embryos to cure disease pulls the rug out from under that particular line of argument. That is why it is so important to use embryonic stem cells! Umbilical stem cell research destroys the left`s entire plan!
Anyone who has read Larry Niven`s fiction should be aware of the ``organ bank problem``. Essentially, Niven worried that increases in medical technology would allow for easy transplantation of human organs, which would then increase demand for those organs to a point where the average citizen would be willing to live in a totalitarian state so as to continue the flow of these ``medical materials``. The state started forcing condemned criminals to become involuntary organ donors, then due to the high demand for transplant material (by replacing organs as fast as they wear out you can greatly extend your life expectancy, according to Niven) more and more crimes became capital offenses-up to and including too many traffic tickets! Everyone lived in fear of the Law. What Niven was illustrating with these stories is the slippery slope our pursuit of immortality and our own benefit can tread upon. Embryonic stem cell research is a piece of this same mindset-this view of human life as so much medical material to be used as we see fit or discarded. If Niven`s nightmare vision about organ transplantation technology is correct, embryonic stem cell research is the doorway to a terrible place. (One of the benefits of stem cell research will be an easing of transplant rejections according to its promoters.)
We have two roads before us. One takes us to respect for life and a world of moral dignity, the other to a place of objectification of our Humanity and blood sacrifice on the alter of convenience. Which way shall we travel?
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:03 AM
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