By Memphis, 1/19/07
The president’s decision regarding the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of
2007 is expected to fall victim to the mindset and direction that this fascist
regime has been taking us. Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to
cure endless ailments and diseases, including Parkinson’s, and heart disease.
The controversial issue is how the stem cells are collected. George Bush will,
expectedly, veto this bill for the second time.
Medical research has shown stem cells have the potential to lessen the
effects of, or cure, many diseases that are today, incurable. Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, stroke, heart disease, arthritis,
and even burns, could all benefit from this research that could take 10 years
or longer. In addition to finding cures, stem cells can be used to test new
potential medications, to see how the human body will react before actual human
testing begins. Testing stem cells with doses of any medication will also
reveal any birth defects that would occur while taking the said medication
during pregnancy. These same stem cells can transform into any of the more than
220 types of cells in the human body. After they are designated as a cell type,
they can be injected into the patient in need of cell therapy. Sometimes adults
can use their own stem cells to correct any problems.
Adult stem cells cannot morph into any existing cell. Only Embryonic stem
cells from umbilical cords, human placenta, or living embryos can be used.
Currently, there are about 400,000 unused human embryos awaiting disposal at
infertility clinics. They were extracted for in-vitro fertilization, and never
used. These are the cells the president has made illegal to research on. Every
single embryo has the potential for a medical breakthrough. To do this
research, an embryo is grown for 5 days in a lab until it becomes a blastocyst.
At this point it is a cluster of about 100 cells. In the middle of these cells
is a “cell mass” where the stem cells are. Once this “cell
mass” is removed, the embryo consequently dies. The destruction of these
embryos is the “reason” for the president’s veto.
On January 11th, 2007, the House voted on this bill. It was passed by a vote
of 253-174, but that is short of the two-thirds vote needed to over ride the
president’s coming veto. This puts America and Americans at a great
disadvantage in the future of our medical science. This government is putting
their hateful brand of Christian fundamentalist thinking before the well being
and lives of already living, breathing Americans, and people all over the
world. His excuse is it is not okay to “use federal tax-payer dollars to
support and encourage the destruction of human life for research.”
Soon, it looks like, this issue will be non-existent. Two groups of
scientists, one in Cambridge Ma, and one in Worchester Ma, have discovered a
cutting edge technology to separate stem cells from embryos without harming the
living embryo. In Worchester, the group extracted one cell from a group of 8 cells
in a mouse. The remaining 7 cells continued to develop into full-term, healthy
mice. The extracted cell was then put in close proximity to existing stem
cells, and it changed to become a stem cell as well.
Medical research is more important now than it ever
has been, and our country has been known for having thousands of eager
scientists ready to decipher the code stem cells have
left with us. Will we get the permission from our government to do so? The
cures for many diseases are in the balance. They are at our fingertips. A
government that suppresses breakthrough medical research for made up religious values
is a government on its way to a fascist regime.
THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US.