Stem cell research has the potential for great scientific gains, as well as the potential to generate outrage for tampering with human life.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives made a good choice by passing a bill to expand public funding for stem cell research. President Bush, however, has threatened to veto this bill.
Despite the fact that stem cell research, as a core ethical issue, is similar to the highly partisan abortion issue, the vote tally showed that 50 Republicans sided with 187 Democrats in supporting the bill. Bush, for all his talk about nonpartisan politics, seems likely to support ideological rifts by exercising his veto power. This turns the stem cell debate into a matter of personal moral beliefs rather than what it should be: an issue of how to best benefit health care through research.
This research can benefit everyone. Some of its applications might include finding cures for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, burns and spinal cord damage. These afflict so many people that they undoubtedly have touched someone important to each of us.
Nancy Reagan - whose late husband, former President Ronald Reagan, was afflicted with Alzheimer's - realized this, and her decision to support stem cell research shows the nonpartisan nature of this issue. To deny funding to research that could prevent these health problems in the future is simply Neanderthal.
It's true that some of these health problems, such as certain cases of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, might be avoided by promoting better diet choices and less smoking. Regardless of this, all available avenues for finding cures should be explored. We have the technology and knowledge in biological sciences to explore the benefits of stem cells - why not use it?
And why not use embryos that would otherwise be thrown away? When couples undergo fertility treatments, excess embryos often remain, and currently 90 percent of them are discarded. This is a waste of scientific resources. Furthermore, it doesn't conform with the ethical standards of those who oppose stem cell research (a dead embryo is a dead embryo).
This is a scientific issue, not a right-to-life issue. Bush needs to realize this.
One thing to Bush's credit on this issue, however, is that he supports allocating federal money to study stem cells from adults and the blood from umbilical cords. Since we have the technology and opportunity to do this, it would make sense to take advantage of this and join the rest of the world in technological progression in the name of saving lives.
