The Killing Fields in America, Part 5: Dr. Jekyll-like Experimentation

One day this past July the Columbus Dispatch newspaper asked its on-line readers this Hot Issue question: "Do you support using federal funds to pay for embryonic stem-cell research?" 69% of 161 responses indicated “yes”. My answer was: “Absolutely not. Killing one life for whatever reason is never justified. We are playing God when we begin to tinker with human life. Adult Stem Cells have yielded positive results so far and should be used in any research. To experiment with human life brings back memories of Nazi experimentations in the 30s and 40s. To me the cry for embryonic stem cells is just another step in advancing the “culture of death” which (tries to) justify the extermination of innocent babies.”

Michael Reagan recently wrote:

"It keeps popping up like weeds in your garden. Just when you think you've weeded out all their myths and falsehoods, the advocates of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) are back pounding on your door and demanding your tax dollars to fund this latest example of junk science masquerading as the real thing . . .

“The ESCR community based most of their inflated claims on the work of South Korean scientist Huang Woo-suk, who claimed to have
created the world's first cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them, raising hopes of cures for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Dr. Huang was widely acclaimed as a world-class stem cell pioneer and treated as a hero until investigations disclosed that he had fabricated key data in two papers published in the U.S. journal, Science. He has now admitted the fraud and has been indicted along with five of his associates.”

Although there is almost no evidence of success at any level in embryonic stem cell research to date, the cry from researchers or social activists is the unrealistic promise or hope of potential future cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, MS etc. The more proven research track using adult stem cells and using umbilical cords to harvest stem cells is a much more proven process. This in itself should be sufficient evidence to prefer the one over the other. But it is not. There must be an agenda in play here that seeks to further the “culture of death” so very prevalent today in the American society.

Much is made of some 400,000 embryos stored away in in vitro-fertilization clinics. Every embryo is a human life. It is my understanding that harvesting embryonic stems cells would destroy the life. Those embryos can be used by unfertile couples. That is the only legitimate use. Perhaps, to avoid this problem we should not permit the creation of any more embryos outside the natural process. Persons wanting children could adopt children who could be saved from the abortion procedure.

To kill an embryo for any purpose is unethical, immoral and flat out murder. It is wrong. This reason transcends even the fact that ESCR itself requires a leap of “faith”. It is my contention that no ESCR private or government should be permitted anywhere, or at least not in the United States.

Cloning is very similar, you are again playing God and manipulating and possibly destroying life itself. This is Dr. Jekyll land. Messing with life itself is beyond man’s purview.

The next and final article in this series will focus on what we can do to bring and end to the senseless Killing Fields in America.