Don't let Obama forget his campaign promise

[barbara]

E-mail the White House at www.whitehouse.gov/contact


The Bush Administration's ban on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research has set back medical research on cures for Parkinson's disease, cancer and other diseases.

Fear of violating Bush's edict (even for something as minor as buying office supplies with federal funding) caused many researchers and institutions logistical headaches. Lifting these restrictions would free researchers to spend less time being concerned about government red tape and more time focusing on research.

President Obama pledged on the campaign trail to reverse the restrictions, opening federal funding for medical research. But he recently said it might be something for Congress to adopt instead. We need to enable stem cell research immediately! Tell Obama now that one of his first acts as president should be to act on his commitment to stem cell research!

 

[Mysty119]

Barb

Right after I read your post I wrote to the President and voiced my concerns and asked that he not let the stem cell issue get hung up in Congress and that he'd keep to his pledge.

 

[zar]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7828800.stm

 

[Jan]

Embryonic stem cell research being controversial.

My thoughts regarding this articles mention of embryonic stem cell research being controversial.

People who are against embryonic stem cell research believe that when a man's sperm fertilizes a woman's egg, it becomes a human person and therefore killing an embryo in order to extract its stem cells is a form of homicide. I, personally, believe that an embryo has the potential to develop into a human person. I feel that research using stem cells derived from embryos is ethical because an embryo has no brain, sensory organs, ability to think, awareness of its surroundings, consciousness, internal organs, arms, legs, head etc..
Embryonic stem cells are primitive cells that can develop into all types of cells found in the human body, such as blood, heart, lung, nerve cells and so on.

It is true that when the stem cells are harvested it results in the death of the embryo. But, keep in mind, that scientists use extra embryos for research that are from in-vitro fertilization clinics that would just be thrown away. Is destroying them by throwing them out also a homicide? I think not, and neither is using the embryos for unlimited application in the treatment and cure of many humans suffering from lung and heart disease and other disorders such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer, strokes, etc. So, why then, shouldn't scientists do research using embryos that will merely be thrown away and wasted. Both destroys the embryo, but research gives a person living a chance to survive a terminal illness or disease.