Playing Politics with Stem Cells
by David Prentice
August 8, 2010
The political science (as opposed to real science) has dominated in the stem cell debate, especially regarding promotion of human embryonic stem cell research. In the stem cell debate, claims for human embryonic stem cell research advanced a political agenda — legitimizing and guaranteeing federal funding for ethically contentious research. For the same political reasons, the increasingly strong evidence of actual therapeutic benefits to patients from ethically non-contentious adult stem cell research was distorted or concealed. For example, the patterns of behavior promoting public funding of human embryonic stem cell research show extreme politicization of the science involved–selective use of data, manipulation of the peer review process, demonizing colleagues who questioned the prevailing orthodoxies and appeals to a bogus scientific “consensus,” among others. Those who questioned this supposed “consensus” were dismissed as scientifically ignorant and accused of playing politics with science.
For a lengthy discussion, see this article in The American Thinker.
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By: Cat Wilke | August 9, 2010 at 7:13 am
I thank you both for your diligence and time in the writing of this article — and yes I read the whole article on The American Thinker. I have worked in the hostile “belly of the beast” in which my beliefs, values and understanding of science were repeatedly dismissed and attacked because I was a pro-life Christian who believed in “walking the walk” and not just giving lip-service to a political agenda that would hopefully lead to the manna of the research scientists — federal grant money. Just like Climategate — it’s all about money and power and they dismiss us by touting us as just too stupid to understand. From one cell to the fully developed adult — it is a human being — period. To refer to it as “just a clump of cells”, as one of my employers stated, adding “that those agains hESCR just need to realize that”, is arrogant, elitist and dismissive of the ENTIRE human experience and the respect it deserves — especially at its most vulnerable and innocent of stages. The respect of human life, from before fertilization until death is a must for a healthy society in not only morals but also in its physical and psychological well being. It is upsetting that the successes of adult stem cells in curing numerous diseases are sumarily dismissed, but it is even more upsetting that the ugly reality of what it would take to cure just one disease; if even they can ever control the bronco busting wild horse that hESC’s have proven to be. The number of young fertile women that would have to go on possibly harmful hormone therapy so they can up their egg production in order to provide the scientists with enough supply to cover all the times it doesn’t work or it fails miserably is staggering — and they risk their own fertility to boot. The real “disease” we need to cure resides in the soulessness of the deceivers behind hESCR — please never give up the fight in exposing their lies. You both are a beacon of light to the unborn!