Earlier this week Barack Obama signed an executive order reversing a ban George W. Bush placed on using federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. Of course this was no surprise, he had said he would do this during his campaign. And all indications are that John McCain would have done the same. Most polling indicates solid support for the research, although it seems many people are fuzzy on their understanding of just what is involved in it.
Although recent discoveries might have leapfrogged the need to use embryonic stem cells, that is still a big might. And a majority of scientists remain convinced that embryonic stem cells would lead to significant treatments and cures that could not be achieved any other way.
This is not an easy issue to deal with. The potential for helping people who suffer from numbers of major and devastating illnesses is truly huge, and I don't think that it helps discussion of the issue to minimize that. I also believe that we need to respect the motives of those who support embryonic stem cell research. These are people who want to help those who are suffering. Many have loved ones who suffer from illness and they long for a way to cure that suffering.
But the question remains the very basic one of whether you can get a right from a wrong. And this is no small question. Especially so, given that Obama's order leaves open the possibility of creating new embryos for research and even conducting research on embryos themselves. And he intends to leave decisions on the ethics of these practices solely to the research communities themselves.
Given our recent, continuing and painful experience with the financial community, it should be obvious that self-regulation has its pitfalls. To put it mildly. And we should not ignore the fact that there are huge financial considerations in any research with medical possibilities. All the more reason that the ethical and moral considerations of this need to and ought to have an open and public debate.
The Catholic position continues to be that we must protect life from its very beginnings to its very end. Making the case for this is hard when embryonic stem cell research seems itself to be protecting suffering life. But as medical research continues, these kinds of dilemmas will likely increase. And we must continue our efforts to protect all who are vulnerable and cast aside.
Although recent discoveries might have leapfrogged the need to use embryonic stem cells, that is still a big might. And a majority of scientists remain convinced that embryonic stem cells would lead to significant treatments and cures that could not be achieved any other way.
This is not an easy issue to deal with. The potential for helping people who suffer from numbers of major and devastating illnesses is truly huge, and I don't think that it helps discussion of the issue to minimize that. I also believe that we need to respect the motives of those who support embryonic stem cell research. These are people who want to help those who are suffering. Many have loved ones who suffer from illness and they long for a way to cure that suffering.
But the question remains the very basic one of whether you can get a right from a wrong. And this is no small question. Especially so, given that Obama's order leaves open the possibility of creating new embryos for research and even conducting research on embryos themselves. And he intends to leave decisions on the ethics of these practices solely to the research communities themselves.
Given our recent, continuing and painful experience with the financial community, it should be obvious that self-regulation has its pitfalls. To put it mildly. And we should not ignore the fact that there are huge financial considerations in any research with medical possibilities. All the more reason that the ethical and moral considerations of this need to and ought to have an open and public debate.
The Catholic position continues to be that we must protect life from its very beginnings to its very end. Making the case for this is hard when embryonic stem cell research seems itself to be protecting suffering life. But as medical research continues, these kinds of dilemmas will likely increase. And we must continue our efforts to protect all who are vulnerable and cast aside.
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