Obama on Stem-Cell Research

I was reading over at the ABH this morning, and I found this interesting Op-Ed by Froma Harrop:

Obama wouldn't budge on the prohibition against funding research that allows for the creation of embryos out of human cells. The process is called therapeutic cloning and is important because it lets scientists work with cells taken from a patient. The body is less likely to reject tissues and organs made from one's own cells.

Bear in mind that therapeutic cloning has little to do with human cloning, which is about making new people and is illegal most everywhere. But say that cloning is being used in research, and a lot of folks think they're going to have a clone as a neighbor in a few years.

The administration's compromise throws a wrench in the ethical argument over destroying embryos. Foes of embryonic stem cell research hold that embryos are full human beings. Supporters say that these 6-day-old clusters of cells are not human beings. This is a religious, not a scientific, debate.

But by allowing the use of embryos from fertility clinics and not those created by researchers, the administration lends credence to the view that embryos are full human beings. "You're giving validity to a bad moral argument," Caplan says, "that embryos are people."

She really hits the nail on the head with this. While I believe Religion is important to humans, it must not come in the way of human progress. Jesus was a progressive... a liberal... for his time. "Loving your neighbor as yourself"... WTF, that wasn't in the Old Testament. What is important to remember is that the reason Jesus is seen as conservative now is because we are looking at him from 2000 years in the future.

Matthew 10:8 says: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. You have received without payment, so give without payment."

Heal the sick... we are trying
Raise the Dead... we can revive people
Cleans the Lepers... plastic surgery anyone... j/k but really this goes back to curing diseases
Drive out Demons... Many "demons" were actually mental illnesses, which we are working on cures for.

Really, curing diseases is not up for debate, Jesus instructs us to do it. If you are a Christian, as I am, then you should be supporting Stem-Cell research.