I Want To Be A Clone
Today President Obama signed an executive order allowing the Federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. His declaration is wrong on many levels.
On an economic level, is now the time to spend even more taxpayer money on research that has strides being made already with adult stem-cells? Especially since private companies will garner the financial gain from my money’s investment. He mentions, this research could, “possibly cure, some of our most devastating diseases and conditions. To regenerate a severed spinal cord and lift someone from a wheelchair. To spur insulin production and spare a child from a lifetime of needles. To treat Parkinson’s, cancer, heart disease and others that affect millions of Americans and the people who love them.” Right now, adult and umbilical stem-cells are being used to treat these diseases so it is unnecessary to increase spending to pursue another avenue?
On a moral level, he did not comment on the true moral issue here. He did not say that embryonic life is not human life. If it is human life, then he probably could not in good conscience sign the order. If it is not human life, then why the big speech? Just say, “science has shown that a human embryo is not human life and so stem-cell research is justified.” The problem for him is that he cannot truthfully say this. A human embryo is human life.
On a logical level, he fails as well. Obama says, “And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.” First of all, in order to clone for research, a scientist follows the exact same steps as a scientist trying to reproduce life for cloning. The difference comes in the end result. In reproductive cloning, when the embryo reaches maturity, it is placed into a uterus. In stem cell research, when it reaches maturity, it is destroyed for experiments. The process is the same, one must clone humans to do embryonic stem-cell research. However, he did not mention this and he either does not understand it or he is counting on us not understanding it.
Secondly, he says that reproductive cloning is, “dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.” Can I ask why? Couldn’t it lead to better humans? More productive humans? Why does he think it is wrong? The only reason I think he believes it is wrong is because the public opinion polls tell him so. There really isn’t another good reason to think that this type of cloning is wrong and therapeutic cloning is not.
Obama says he is not playing politics and yet he is. He said, this order, “is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda – and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.” By spending taxpayer funds (read government money if you are a liberal) on this science, he is supporting this science WITH and THROUGH the government. How is this a separation? He has done the opposite of what he said yet again.
Surprise!
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