Bush gropes the German PM

scandium · 07-21-06, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waste gate

Quote:

Originally Posted by scandium

Quote:

Originally Posted by waste gate

Nor does it stop private industry from working with stem cells.

Here's the thing I have trouble making sense out of though: Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow, when answering why the President vetoed the stem cell research bill, explained it this way "the simple answer is he thinks murder is wrong". Okay, that's fine, I think murder is wrong too.

But why is it only murder if the federal government conducts stem cell research, since as you say, private industry is free to work with stem cells. Or is it that private industry is now allowed to commit murder? I mean, which is it?

I haven't heard Tony Snow on this topic, but this is my take on it, if you don't mind.

Stem Cell research in its self isn't the issue (I think it should be pursued with the utmost speed). The problem comes from where the stem cell are harvested and who should pay for the harvesting and research.

As of the year 2000, the U.S. Gov't reports 25,000 abortions a day in the U.S.
Some folks consider this to be the murder of the un-born, as opposed to the protection of a persons fourth amendment right to privacy as the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade. Today the abortions performed under the Roe v. Wade decision are not funded by the U.S. Gov't, but by contributions to private organization (read corporations).

That is how I see it.

Okay, you bring up an interesting point there. Given that murder in the U.S. is illegal, and that under Roe V. Wade the court ruled, in effect, that abortion was legal and therefore not murder, then, one's personal feelings aside there is no "murder" involved anywhere in the equation of stemcell research whether private or public.

As it stands now, those 25,000 aborted fetuses are medical waste, no matter what one's views on abortion are since it is legal and occuring anyway - unless some of them could be salvaged, and put to good use, through stem cell research. The US Congress and Senate voted in favour of this, while the President used his first ever veto to kill this bill.

The breakthroughs will come anyway, the momentum is there everywhere else, just not from the federal government that once upon a time had the vision to put a man on the moon. I don't get it. Sorry, I just don't.