Why you don’t want to get your
medical advice
from an actor
Rochester Area Right To Life
Why you don’t want to get your
medical advice |
|
Rochester Area Right To Life |
Why you don’t
want to get your medical advice from an actor:
Cut through the hype with some facts!
LifeNews.com (October 8, 2004) quotes this ad in which actor Michael J. Fox criticizes the current administration’s position on embryonic stem cell research.
| "John Kerry strongly supports stem cell research. George Bush is putting limits on it," Fox says in the ad. "Stem cell research can help millions of Americans whose lives have been touched by devastating illnesses. George Bush says we can wait. I say lives are at stake and it's time for leadership. That's why I support John Kerry for president." |
Mark Twain once commented that “There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.” The hype surrounding stem cell research has prevented many people from doing a sober assessment of the facts that make a big difference in how we see the whole issue. And the preoccupation of Hollywood with embryonic stem cell research is a part of that hype. |
Fox’s passion is commendable. His presentation of "fact" is not.
Fact: There are NO federal limits on stem cell research, either adult or embryonic. Even though the notion of “embryo farms” is abhorrent to the average American, currently any researcher who wants to start an embryo farm for the purposes of experimenting on live human embryos can do so without violating federal regulations. The only restriction is that federal money cannot be spent on research involving new embryonic stem cell lines, just the ones currently in existence. Any private enterprise or philanthropy can fund promising research with no restriction.
Fact: Private enterprise does not seem to be interested in funding embryonic stem cell research. Why? Because, contrary to the hype, embryonic stem cell work does NOT look promising. There is currently no clinical use in embryonic stem cell research.
The hope is in adult stem cell research. Over 50 human diseases are currently being treated with adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are found in many tissues of the body: bone marrow, nasal tissue, fat, to name a few. Additional clinical uses for adult stem cells are currently being developed all over the world.
Here is the basic picture to keep in mind:
|
Human Diseases Currently Being Treated with |
Human Diseases Currently Being Treated with Embryonic Stem Cells |
|
over 50 |
0 |
If you wanted to do research to find a cure for one of the “devastating illnesses” Fox talks about, which technique would you try first? Embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells?
Fact: Fox says, “Stem cell research can help millions ...” Correct. And it has already begun.
Fox says, “George Bush says we can wait.” Incorrect. We aren't waiting. We’re already on the move, with many lives already saved, and the techniques are only getting better and better.
Conclusion: When someone pans or praises “stem cell research,” it is useful to ask “which kind” before agreeing or disagreeing. There’s a world of difference between the two. The lives of many people ride on it.
RARTL Updated October, 2004
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