Stemming the ESCR Tide, Part II

I really wasn't intending to write again today about embryonic stem cell esearch (ESCR). However, I came across an news item entitled, “New Discovery Stokes Debate Ahead of Dems' Stem Cell Bill” written by Melanie Hunter in an email I received from CNSNews.com.

In my post yesterday I mentioned that there were two good reasons for not funding or supporting ESCR: (1) the fact that adult stem cell research has already yielded successes in providing practical treatment of various diseases and conditions already, while ESCR has yielded a blank. (2) ESCR is absolutely immoral and unethical, because it involves killing human life.

Hunter outlines a third reason for not supporting ESCR funding in her Cybernet News Service news article. She writes, “A new study has found that stem cells are in plentiful supply in amniotic fluid, but at a time the charged issue of experimentation involving human embryos is back on the political agenda in the U.S., a group that favors the controversial research insisted Monday the discovery does not make embryonic stem cells (ESC) obsolete.”

One website defines amniotic fluid as being "a colorless liquid that surrounds and protects the baby inside the amniotic sac within the uterus. When the amniotic sac ruptures, this may be referred to as your "water breaking."

Hunter's article continues, ”Two Republican lawmakers (Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.)) - both with medical backgrounds - announced Monday they would introduce alternative legislation (which they called an “ethical alternative” to the Democratic bill) on Tuesday, authorizing federal funding for stem cell research that does not involve creating or destroying human embryos. Two days later (Thursday), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to reintroduce legislation to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.”

What the proposed alternative stem cell legislation (to the Democratic backed Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act or HR3) would do would be to speed up federal funding and progress toward expanding the number of ethical stem cell lines. It would in essense avoid having to deal the issue of killing human embryos. It seems to me that this new study identifies an area of research that deserves funding espeically since it does not involve destroying human life.

Now we have just one more reason or justification NOT to fund the use of ANY embryonic stem cell research, we just have to apply pressure on our representatives urging them to reject the Democratic pro-death Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (HR 3). America must just begin to stem the tide away from a culture of death to a culture of life. This is just the right thing to do, A Good Choice . . .