The bias in this question is evident. It assumes that anyone not in favor of embryonic stem cell research is against all stem cell research, which is not true.
My answer comes from the Long Island Catholic :
'Sad victory' of politics over science, ethics
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Combined News Sources) — While President Barack Obama contended he was resolving “a false choice between sound science and moral values,” the head of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee called the president’s Mar. 9 executive order overturning Bush administration limits on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research “a sad victory of politics over science and ethics.”
The Bush policy had allowed funding of embryonic stem cell research only when the stem cell line had been created before Aug. 9, 2001. The executive order Obama signed permits federal funding of stem cell lines created since then. In addition, Obama urged Congress to consider further expansion of funding for such research, including the creation of new embryonic stem cell lines, although he said he would work to ensure that “our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction.”
“This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested,” said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Although President Obama contended that a “majority of Americans — from across the political spectrum, and of all backgrounds and beliefs — have come to a consensus that we should pursue” embryonic stem-cell research, Cardinal Rigali said the president’s action “disregards the values of millions of American taxpayers who oppose research that requires taking human life.”
In addition, he said, “It ignores the fact that ethically sound means for advancing stem cell science and medical treatments are readily available and in need of increased support.”Cardinal Rigali cited a January 16 letter to then President-elect Obama in which Cardinal Francis George, president of the USCCB, argued that federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is “especially pointless at this time,” given that:
— such research is already being pursued using cell lines that pre-existed President Bush’s restrictions, or that have been created using nonfederal funds since 2001;
— “adult and cord blood stem cells are now known to have great versatility, and are increasingly being used to reverse serious illnesses and even help rebuild damaged organs”;
— and that “recent startling advances in reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells – hailed by the journal Science as the scientific breakthrough of the year – are said by many scientists to be making embryonic stem cells irrelevant to medical progress.
“To divert scarce funds away from these promising avenues for research and treatment toward the avenue that is most morally controversial as well as most medically speculative would be a sad victory of politics over science,” Cardinal George had written.The Cincinnati-based Life Issues Institute termed the president’s decision
“particularly political when made in the immediate wake of two (contrasting) scientific announcements:” documentation of the first successful adult stem cell treatment to reverse the effects of Parkinson’s disease, published in the Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal; and new warnings about the dangers of embryonic stem cell use, prompted by the case of “an Israeli boy who developed brain and spinal tumors as a result of the embryonic cells.”“Advancements in science and research have moved faster than the debates among politicians in Washington,” said House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. “Breakthroughs announced in recent years confirm that the full potential of stem cell research can be realized without the destruction of living human embryos.”
Declaring that “compassion can never be built upon callous disregard for human life,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, charged that “this policy reversal was timed to secure the maximum amount of taxpayer funds.
“The National Institutes of Health received $10.4 billion in the Obama stimulus package,” she said. The “executive order reversing the Bush policy allows the president to fast-track billions of taxpayer dollars toward embryonic stem cell research — all without the benefit of public or Congressional debate.”
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