“…Decisions based on facts, not Ideology…”

by Gordon Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, March 27, 2009

The quotation above comes directly from the speech given by our president the day he issued an executive order that would allow the use of our Federal funds to pursue research that would result in the exploitation of human embryos. It is my hope that this promise of Obama’s will be one that he does keep; in contrast to the many he has already broken in his first two months of leadership.

It is the endeavor of pure scientific research to always seek the facts; regardless of what direction those facts may lead. I agree with Obama that science should be free of bias, and political pressure should not inhibit true reporting of those facts or encourage the reporting of fallacious discoveries.

However, in the case of using the embryos of humans as if they were mere waste products, science must also be guided by a greater purpose that would retain the dignity of human life and preserve our collective morality as a society.

In the opening paragraphs of my fellow columnist’s laudatory treatise, he makes the inference that we have suddenly been thrust into a new age of enlightenment by the progressive leadership of Obama. His following paragraphs seem to imply that Bush had been the one who closed the door on all manner of scientific research. Well, let’s examine that charge for moment.

I think he was referring to the following piece of legislation – better known as the Dickey Amendment. Let me quote the most applicable portions, in which the signee prohibits using appropriated funds for:

The creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death…

If that is the legislation that stifled scientific research and kept us hidden in the dark ages as my brother claims, then he should at least credit the rightful signee of that bill. It was not George Bush who signed that law and it was not initiated because of some “sect of conservatism”. President Bill Clinton signed it after Congress passed it in 1995. Again, these are facts, not ideology.

Furthermore, it was Bush who opened the door on funding of adult stem cell research, which ultimately resulted in the discovery, in the fall of 2007, of the successful use of adult skin cells to produce pluripotent stem cells. I am hoping that Obama will allow these facts to guide our continued research into this area.

Despite the misleading claims made by my brother in his column, there are many scientists who agree that embryonic cells are less effective as a means of disease control because the recipients would naturally have a rejection of this foreign genetic material. This natural rejection forces them to undergo lifelong anti-rejection medication.

Other facts to be considered are as follows: First of all, it should be understood that it is a fact that human embryos represent a new, unique individual. The point of conception results in the union of two separate strands of DNA into one new strand of a never-before and a never-again combination of genetic material. If a citizen decided that the fertilized egg of a Bald Eagle held some great promise for her sick mother and endeavored to climb up to and disturb the nest of a pair of Eagles, she would suffer prosecution for threatening a protected species. However, we seem to think that the fertilized ovum of a human is not worthy of the same protection. Ideology – instead of facts.

The common cry from those who advocate the destruction of these lives is “these embryos are going to be destroyed anyway”. The facts are that there are many potential parents waiting to become adoptive parents. Another sad fact is that as researchers compete for Federal dollars, demand will ultimately call for greater supply and, again despite my brother’s claim to the contrary, we will start sliding down a slippery slope of producing embryos solely for the purpose of research. Facts – instead of ideology.

The conclusion of this matter is this: Use of Federal Funds for embryonic stem cell research is 1. Illegal because Congress has stated that no funds should be used. (Dickey Amendment) 2. Immoral because human beings are killed in the process. One-celled human life is still human life. 3. Unnecessary because ethical “Do No Harm” alternatives are available such as human somatic cells which have shown more promise than embryonic stem cells.

For those who believe that I have played fast and loose with the facts, please take the time and email me and I will reply with the documented materials to back up each of the above claims. It is my hope that our president does indeed allow the facts to guide him and not the ideology of a sect of progressivism.