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In President Bush’s 2001
speech regarding stem cell research he stated, “I also believe human life
is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry about a culture that devalues
life, and believe as your President I have an important obligation to
foster and encourage respect for life in America”. However, this speech
was not in favor of saving lives through embryonic stem cells, instead, it
was a speech about creating sanctions and giving limited federal funding
towards this research. Millions of Americans die every year from aliments
such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, birth defects, and spinal-cord injuries.
All of these could be cured once embryonic stem cell research is realized
and applied, yet instead of encouraging the continuation of human life,
President Bush has created a policy that allows these people to continue
to die.
The idea of a stem cell
being a human life is one that not even President Bush agrees with. Under
a law created by the Bush administration, an embryo is defined as a human
life once it is 40 days old. Since embryonic stem cells are only 12-15
days old, they are not defined as human life under President Bush’s own
law. This law is based on the creation of brain waves. Once an embryo
reaches the 40-day-old mark brain waves are present. This means that
slightest idea of emotion, or thought, is starting its rudimentary
development. Also, it means that a stem cell has as much emotional
capability as the millions of cells killed daily by taking a step, or
slamming a door. Comparing a stem cell to a living, breathing human being
with the will to live is scientifically impossible, and thus we should
save the human, instead of the emotionless shell of a stem cell.
At the moment, there is a
lack of funding from the government towards stem cell research. Scientists
around the U.S. are upset over the low amount of funds coming from the
government. Only 1% of the National Institute’s of Health $28 billion
budget was spent on stem cell research in the past year. It is
unconscionable for the government to fund this important issue with such
an insubstantial amount of money. Not only is the government unable to
fund stem cell research prudently, but they have also put forth sanctions
that will halt scientists from discovering anything that will have enough
relevance to save anybody.
Luckily, the Bush
administration has allowed private funding. This is a good thing, and shows how successful stem cell research would be if it received the
necessary government funding. Scientists have been making progress with
the amount of money given to them from private organizations. An example
of this is the successful use of stem cells on a mouse. When embryonic
stem cell research is fully realized, a countless amount of human beings
(as well as mice) would be able to function without disease or sickness.
Diseases and aliments such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, birth defects, and
spinal-cord injuries would all have medication to cure those unlucky enough to
receive any of these diseases. Some might say that these are false claims.
They are not because scientists have been able to develop new
organ tissues by using stem cells. By creating these new tissues the
scientists could replace the old bad tissue with new effective tissues.
This showcases that this research is not a dream, but could be a reality
with funding.
The progress we have made
with stem cell research is significantly lower then what Bush promised in
2001. There are currently only 22 lines of stem cells, while Bush promised
78 by today’s date. America is falling behind is this field of science.
South Korea and Britain have more lax restrictions, which have allowed
them to make a larger field of discoveries then American scientist. Being
able to fully understand the use of stem cells would allow truly wondrous
practices to come out. It is the government’s duty to try to save American
lives. If they wish to do so then they must significantly raise funding
for stem cell research.
The
government has made small steps in aiding the advancement of stem cell
research. In 2005 they passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement
Act, which allows embryonic stem cells for virility clinics to be used.
This is act was a step in the right direction, though it is only a step.
Now is
time to lift Bush’s sanctions, and raise funding so that President Bush
can fulfill his own belief, which states “human life is a sacred gift from
our Creator”. Mr. Bush help save human life by allocating more money
towards stem cell research, and by lifting unnecessary sanctions on the
creation of stem cell lines. When we think about whether or not to fund stem cell
research, we need to think about a very simple concept, life or death.
Sources:
www.whitehouse.gov, The National
Institute of Health, The Chicago Tribune, Time,
www.thomas.loc.gov |
