On June 20th, President Bush again vetoed legislation that would overturn his embryonic stem cell research policy. Critics of the President's veto in Nevada say that this removes hope for sufferers. These critics cannot be taken seriously.
In an article in the Reno Gazette Journal, Bob Fulkerson of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada said President Bush, "with the stroke of a pen, struck away the hopes and dreams" of cures for chronic illnesses. “It's a shame (Bush) is kow-towing to a very small group instead of doing what's best for the American people suffering from chronic ailments.” Mylan Hawkins, executive director of the Nevada Diabetes Association said, “We are deeply saddened that once again the hope for so many Americans who suffer with incurable conditions has been shattered.” Planned Parenthood's Allison Gauldin told KOH that thinking that adult stem cells are superior is naive.
It is obvious to anyone with a little knowledge about the research that embryonic stem cell research is not the only hope-if it has any hope at all. There is plenty of hope beyond embryonic stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research appears to show NO hope at all. When the president announced his veto a woman who had her bladder replaced with one made from her own stem cells was standing with the president. This month we learned that diabetic participants in a Brazilian study went off of insulin for long periods of time after being treated with their own stem cells. Another woman Carol Franz; of Las Vegas was also with the president. She has beaten cancer twice by using her own adult stem cells. Who's naive?
You would think that people speaking for sufferers and working for relief and cures for their ailments would know that there are over 70 benefits for human sufferers through non embryonic and adult stem cells. There are well over 1000 human trials. There are no human embryonic stem cell benefits or trials.
There is also hope beyond stem cell research. Two stories have appeared in the last few days that have nothing to do with any kind of stem cell research. One concerns an experimental Parkinson’s trial using gene therapy. The other is about a promising Alzheimer’s vaccine which attacks the plaque build up in the brain. Those possibilities have nothing to do with stem cell research at all.
It is utterly irresponsible and unconscionable to crush hopes of sufferers by telling them that if the President will not expand their preferred-and for many, their politically preferred-option, that they have no hope.
We should expect that the people above would know about these things and understand that these are huge reasons for hope. And critics should think twice before calling pro-life ideas naïve. What is truly naive saying there is no hope after researchers began taking back their promises this summer. Instead of cures, they are now talking about models for understanding disease. That is a far cry from the miraculous cures that are said to be at our fingertips if the president would open the treasury to the special interests of the biotech lobby.
We may cure many of the diseases that concern us most before embryonic stem cells ever get a human trial. Embryonic stem cell advocates may not notice.
Thank you for your life giving column of June 27, 2007 and mentioning my survival due to my own adult stem cell transplants.
ReplyDeleteToo many people are dying due to ignorance and the scary part is their doctors are so uninformed.
Congress, the FDA and the main stream media are killing more Americans every day, by keeping them from knowledge of treatments,than any of our wars.
It is too bad that many foundations are more interested in making a profit (they hope) with embryonic research and are not focused on saving patients but hoping to secure patents!