Stem Cell Distortion
"Mark Green says he's going to outlaw stem cell research..."
Woman in pro-Doyle attack ad
The only trouble with this claim is that Republican Representative Mark Green of Green Bay, who is opposing Governor Jim Doyle in the November election, never said that, voted that way, or introduced legislation to outlaw stem cell research.
Doyle and Green do differ on stem cell research, and this difference is a legitimate issue in the gubernatorial campaign. However, candidates and their advertizers must be careful to state correctly the positions of their riva s before they attack them. It is intellectually dishonest to attribute some absurd view to another candidate, and then lambaste him for holding it.
Here are the real issues. President George Bush vetoed a bill for funding of embryonic stem cell research. Under this bill, the government would pay for experiments using stem cells removed from human embryos that were created through "in vitro" (test-tube) fertilization. If these embryos were successfully implanted in a suitable womb, they could grow into babies; in fact, the President had a number of children who had grown from such embryos at his veto ceremony. However, the vast majority of embryos produced are never used, and are ultimately destroyed, whether or not any stem cells are extracted from them.
Since embryonic stem cells can mature into any kind of cell in the human body, it is plausible that replacing diseased cells with healthy stem cells might cure many diseases that originate in cellular misfunction, such as cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's. For this reason, Governor Doyle and the majority of both Houses of Congress support stem cell research. However, President Bush believes it is morally wrong to use cells from living human tissue for these experiments, and some Christian leaders agree. This is why Rep. Green voted against the bill and to sustain the President's veto .
My own view is that since the embryos cannot grow into people unless they are implanted, and there is no moral obligation to implant all these embryos, the cells of the embryos should be available for scientifc research. Although success in curing (or perhaps preventing) diseases with stem cells is not certain at this time, I believe that the prospect of doing so is great enough to justify federal funding of the research.
Of course Rep. Green's votes on this bill are fair-game for political attack, but it was wrong to accuse the congressman of trying to "outlaw stem cell research." In fact, Green had previously voted in favor of funding research on existing stem cell lines, which President Bush has also approved. Moreover, adult stem cells also can be used for research, but apparently embryonic stem cells are more promising. In addition, neither the bill in question nor any other bill ever supported by Mark Green, would have "outlawed stem cell research."(1) In fact, states and private industry are free to sponsor embryonic stem cell research, and Republican Governor Schwartznegger of California has just signed a bill to do so.
It would have been difficult and complicated to explain Rep. Green's actual position on embryonic stem cell use (limit federal funding to existing lines) in a brief TV ad, but that does not excuse distorting his position for emotional and political effect. Sure, let us debate stem cell research in this campaign, but let's keep the debate honest.
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(1) Green voted to ban the use of embryos for human cloning, but would permit research on existing stem cell lines.
Woman in pro-Doyle attack ad
The only trouble with this claim is that Republican Representative Mark Green of Green Bay, who is opposing Governor Jim Doyle in the November election, never said that, voted that way, or introduced legislation to outlaw stem cell research.
Doyle and Green do differ on stem cell research, and this difference is a legitimate issue in the gubernatorial campaign. However, candidates and their advertizers must be careful to state correctly the positions of their riva s before they attack them. It is intellectually dishonest to attribute some absurd view to another candidate, and then lambaste him for holding it.
Here are the real issues. President George Bush vetoed a bill for funding of embryonic stem cell research. Under this bill, the government would pay for experiments using stem cells removed from human embryos that were created through "in vitro" (test-tube) fertilization. If these embryos were successfully implanted in a suitable womb, they could grow into babies; in fact, the President had a number of children who had grown from such embryos at his veto ceremony. However, the vast majority of embryos produced are never used, and are ultimately destroyed, whether or not any stem cells are extracted from them.
Since embryonic stem cells can mature into any kind of cell in the human body, it is plausible that replacing diseased cells with healthy stem cells might cure many diseases that originate in cellular misfunction, such as cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's. For this reason, Governor Doyle and the majority of both Houses of Congress support stem cell research. However, President Bush believes it is morally wrong to use cells from living human tissue for these experiments, and some Christian leaders agree. This is why Rep. Green voted against the bill and to sustain the President's veto .
My own view is that since the embryos cannot grow into people unless they are implanted, and there is no moral obligation to implant all these embryos, the cells of the embryos should be available for scientifc research. Although success in curing (or perhaps preventing) diseases with stem cells is not certain at this time, I believe that the prospect of doing so is great enough to justify federal funding of the research.
Of course Rep. Green's votes on this bill are fair-game for political attack, but it was wrong to accuse the congressman of trying to "outlaw stem cell research." In fact, Green had previously voted in favor of funding research on existing stem cell lines, which President Bush has also approved. Moreover, adult stem cells also can be used for research, but apparently embryonic stem cells are more promising. In addition, neither the bill in question nor any other bill ever supported by Mark Green, would have "outlawed stem cell research."(1) In fact, states and private industry are free to sponsor embryonic stem cell research, and Republican Governor Schwartznegger of California has just signed a bill to do so.
It would have been difficult and complicated to explain Rep. Green's actual position on embryonic stem cell use (limit federal funding to existing lines) in a brief TV ad, but that does not excuse distorting his position for emotional and political effect. Sure, let us debate stem cell research in this campaign, but let's keep the debate honest.
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(1) Green voted to ban the use of embryos for human cloning, but would permit research on existing stem cell lines.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 11:23 AM
3 comments
