Posted on 07/16/2009 6:47:14 PM PDT by Kaslin
Bioethics: The former director of the National Institutes of Health, once an enthusiast for embryonic stem cells, now says their future has "dimmed." So why is the administration bailing out research into such therapies while troubled states like California have committed billions?
Applauding the administration's move was Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who echoed the claims of embryonic stem cell supporters when he said the research has "the most remarkable potential of any scientific discovery ever made with respect to human health."
Potential it had. Actual results, not so much.
Michael Fumento, former IBD writer and now director of the Independent Journalism Project, writes in Forbes that adult stem cell research has lapped the field and that adult stem cells "have now treated scores of illnesses including many cancers, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, immunodeficiency disorders, neural degenerative diseases, anemias and other blood conditions."
He notes that while there has never been an embryonic stem cell clinical study, adult stem cells "have been used in over 2,000 human clinical trials." So why is ESCR attracting so much government money? Part of it is ideology, and part of it is money.
"Research funding can generate tremendous income with no treatments," Fumento says, "because human and animal ES cells, and materials and techniques used to manipulate them, can all be patented. Licensing fees make them worth a fortune."
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
So what, kill babies, anyway....
I have come to believe that anything that Specter is for is a bad idea.
Any reason to kill a baby...DUH!!!
I think the reason why the demoncrats fall all over themselves in favor of embryonic stem cells is that Bush refused to fund them and instead of debating it on the merits the demons decided to hail embryonic stem cells as the holy grail of medical science.
ESCR is now moot, but just tonight I heard the Obama station, NBC, do another story on ESCR “hope” and not even mentioning the actual TREATMENTS from ADULT stem cells.
I personally don’t think that embryonic stem cells are the answer. Adult stem cells have a proven record of healing diseases.
There are two Bible verses, Matthew 9:16 and 17 that make me wonder if they are for today. In Matthew 9, Jesus is healing people. He healed the paralytic, the woman with the issue of blood, the blind, and other diseases, and raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.
Right in the middle of the chapter, he speaks of patching an old garment with new cloth, and putting new wine into old wineskins.
Vs. 16 - No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. NIV
Vs. 17 - Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins wll be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. NIV
I wonder if this applies to humans. Embryonic cells grow at a much faster rate than adult cells. Tumors will form, which are often cancerous. There was a boy in Israel whose parents took him to Russia for embryonic stem cell treatment. Shortly after, he developed tumors all through his body. I’m not sure if he is still alive today or not.
I know that there are Bible verses that speak to the present time. When the two witnesses are killed in Jerusalem, the whole world will see them lying in the street. This was not possible until worldwide satellite television was invented. Also, there are Bible verses that speak to atomic warfare. The flesh will be stripped from the bones before the body hits the ground. This did not happen until Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Please let me know what you think.
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