It seems that among the many changes sweeping through the Oval House, funding for the sciences has been one of the primary benefactors. White House officials have announced that President Obama will reverse the limits on stem cell funding that were put in place by the Bush administration. This policy, which will be formalized Monday, is a tremendous boost for universities and other facilities with stakes in stem cell research but could draw the ire of pro-life activists. Stem cells have been hailed as having the potential to treat many incurable illnesses. The controversy stems from the type of cells that are used, specifically the embryonic cells. Critics of the research claim that stem cells could be harvested from amniotic fluid or placenta. A human embryo does not need to be sacrificed. Proponents of the research claim that embryonic cells are by far the most promising of the batch.
I personally applaud President Obama’s choice to lift up the limits set by the previous generation. Hopefully, the enthusiasm by the scientists will mean an accelerated rate of research to make up for the eight years the field had been stagnating. The critics may have a point about the killing of a human being; it really depends on what developmental stage of an embryo that one views as being a human. However, they forget that these embryos were going to be discarded anyways, the products of failed in-vitro fertilizations. Stem cells have the potential to benefit a lot of people living in this world today. Isn’t there a need to help them first rather than cells that will never become a human?
Website Relevant to the Post
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/politics/07stem.html?ref=health
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