(Not Embryonic)Stem-cell Contact Lenses Cure Blindness in one Month

Gizmodo ^ | 06/03/09 | Adam Frucci

[AustinBill]

Engaging the debate as "embryonic" vs. "adult" misses the whole point. Someone who has no respect for moral values is delighted to see the opposition painted into the corner of making "primitive" moral arguments vs. their "enlightened" scientific views. You just can't win that argument. As a wise theology professor of mine once observed, you cannot reason a man out of a position he has not reasoned himself into.

Turn the tables and recast the debate as "Helping your body heal itself" (the natural way) vs. "Injecting foreign tissues into your body" (the artificial way) and see how things change. Support for autologous stem cells means rejecting embryonic research in a way that plays to the organic "all natural" mindset.

Sometimes a bit of forensic ju-jitsu is called for in the public square.

[so_real]

Interesting. You may well be on to something there. Redefining the argument from “baby cells vs. adult cells” to “my cells vs. foreign cells” will draw even those ignoring their moral compasses into the correct side of the debate. The more self-serving and ego-centric they are, the more vocal an ally they become. For all the wrong reasons, they join the side of right. And “all natural” is a hot ticket right now. You’ve convinced me to try something new. It is a sound logical argument, and may well be a convincing one as well. Thank you.