By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty (www.bannerofliberty.com)
August 10, 2001
A few minutes after President George W. Bush completed his talk to America about stem cell research I received an e-mail from a reader, Marty Card, who said:
"Well, just after the President announced his decision, I heard one media type say that "The President has decided to allow federal funding for very limited research on cell lines..." then he said something about embryos that "might not survive the freezing process" that would be used in these existing cell lines.Guess he wasn't paying attention to the President's speech, in which he very distinctly said that these cell lines were created from embryos that were already destroyed.
Marty, sadly, was right. The New York times lead paragraph on the story was:
Addressing the nation for the first time since his inauguration, President Bush said tonight that he would allow federal taxpayer money to be used for research into stem cells from human embryos.
The Washington Post, not to be outdone, in its first paragraph on the story said:
"President Bush last night announced the federal government will begin to pay for a limited amount of research on stem cells from human embryos, a politically charged decision that will move taxpayer money slowly into a controversial but promising field of medical inquiry."
In MSNBC's report online, the first paragraph began:
"Aug. 9 - In what could be the most significant ethical and political decision of his administration so far, President Bush announced Thursday night that he would approve federal funding for potentially life-saving research on some existing embryonic stem cells."
Did President Bush approve research into stem cells from human embryos? It wasn't a long speech. Those who missed it can read it in a few minutes. It's posted on this website. What he said, very carefully was:
"Eight years ago, scientists believed fetal tissue research offered great hope for cures and treatments, yet the progress to date has not lived up to its initial expectations. Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril, so I have decided we must proceed with great care."As a result of private research, more than 60 genetically diverse stem cell lines already exist. They were created from embryos that have already been destroyed, and they have the ability to regenerate themselves indefinitely, creating ongoing opportunities for research.
"I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these existing stem cell lines, where the life-and-death decision has already been made.
"Leading scientists tell me research on these 60 lines has great promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures. This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life.
The cells the President is talking about are not from embryos. They are not stem cells that have been harvested by killing embryos. They are stem cells that have multiplied from stem cells that were PREVIOUSLY harvested from embryos. They are not and have never been IN a human embryo.
I am not a scientist, but it appears to me that there is a huge difference in what the President talked about and what the media is now claiming he said. For example, when Dr. Jonas Salk started researching the polio virus, I presume he first had to find some polio virus. I don't know where he got the virus he used for research, but would guess that it probably came by "harvesting" the polio virus from a human who had polio. Of course, such a procedure would not, and did not require him to kill the patient.
However, once he had polio virus in his possession, he could grow more polio virus in his laboratory. He didn't have to run out and find a new polio patient every time he needed more virus to study.
In the case of the stem cells President Bush is talking about, note that he said "This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research. He did not say "embryonic stem cell research."
The president's decision in this matter is entirely within his clearly enunciated moral position:
"I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our creator. I worry about a culture that devalues life, and believe as your president I have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world.
His decision specifically does NOT allow ANY federal funds to be used for "embryonic stem cell research." In fact, it is a decision that I can totally endorse, because it is identical to the position I took only three days ago on the same subject. (See: Stem Cell Therapy is Already being Used - WITHOUT the use of embryos -(http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-01MQC/8-6-2001.1.html) Like President Bush, I support stem cell research. Like President Bush, I oppose killing embryos to get the stem cells. The embryos that were originally killed to obtain their stem cells were not killed with your tax money. They were killed at some time in the past with private money.
The stem cells that are now multiplying in laboratories on those 60 genetic lines have never BEEN in embryos. Therefore, it is incorrect to call them "embryonic stem cells." As the President put it:
"…This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life.
The president's careful and very wise decision enables scientists to prove if there actually IS any value in these very early stem cells while simultaneously halting a rush to create embryo factories for the purpose of killing them for stem cells or body parts.
Marty Card had urged President Bush, in an earlier e-mail, "Stick to your values and Vote for Life!"
That is exactly what President George W. Bush has done. It's a shame that the media isn't reporting it.
To comment: mmostert@bannerofliberty.com
To Send an e-mail to the President: president@whitehouse.gov