It is unfortunate that the great stem cell debate has been so heated and politicized, that in the wake of the best news in a long time, the divisions are still present.

Today’s news has, Arlan Specter saying “I really don’t think anybody ought to take credit in light of the six-year delay we’ve had,” and “My own view is that science ought to be unfettered and that every possible alternative ought to be explored.”

EVERY possible alternative? I think not Mr. Specter! And the six-year delay comment is a direct hit to President Bush for his ‘moral line in the sand’ restricting federal funding of destructive embryo research.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said, “None of this feels like it should be one versus the other,” and “That’s the politicization of science.”

Notice the theme . . . all avenues should be pursued.

Last night I did the local ABC evening news. I was on a segment with Richard Murphy, Ph.D., the interim president of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Of course Dr. Murphy said that it is too early to know if this research would be beneficial and that he was concerned with viruses in the stem cell lines that may be harmful. And he emphasized that all avenues of cloning research must be pursued. Sure he’d say that, he’s got $3 billion of CA tax payer funding on the line! Can you say “repeal Proposition 71”!

The ink isn’t even dry on the greatest stem cell breakthrough in this debate and the pro-cloners are saying we still need to have unfettered research because people are dying and cures are not being developed fast enough because the religious right is blocking progress. Yawn Yawn Yawn

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.