Cell Phony (Bush waffles, then cries "murder")

[ProSense]

Cell Phony

David Corn
July 19, 2006

Snip...

That is, Bush believes that embryonic stem cell research—which involves removing cells from a blastocyst and destroying that five-day-old embryo—is killing. This represents an evolution in Bush's position. In August 2001, in his first primetime Oval Office speech, he outlined his position on stem cells research. In that address, he did not term this research "murder." He said that embryonic stem cell research "is at the leading edge of a series of moral hazards." He noted that he had asked scientists, bioethicists, religious leaders and others whether a blastocyst is a human life. "Well," Bush said, "one researcher told me that he believes this five-day-old cluster of cells is not an embryo, not yet an individual, but a pre-embryo. He argued that it had the potential for life, but it is not a life because it cannot develop on its own." But, Bush continued, an "ethicist dismissed that as a callous attempt at rationalization. Make no mistake, he told me, that cluster of cells is the same way you and I, and all the rest of us, started our lives."

Snip...

Bush sugarcoated the effect of his executive order. He said there were 60 existing lines and research using them held "great promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures." This was misleading. There were closer to a dozen lines in existence at that time, and many of them were of poor quality and polluted with mouse cells (which had been used to generate the lines). Bush's decision was basically a ban on effective embryonic stem cell research. Yet he and his advisers had crafted a position that hid the true impact of his action. This waffling permitted Bush to come across as supportive of stem cells research while scoring some points with the religious right. He escaped making the hard call.

The new legislation afforded Bush no room for maneuvering. It forced him to decide who was right: the researcher he cited in 2001 or the ethicist he quoted. He resolved that he stands with the “it's murder” crowd. Karl Rove recently explained Bush's stance this way: "We were all an embryo at one point."

Bush, Rove and others are certainly entitled to this view. But it does lead to dilemmas for them. Or it should. If embryonic stem cell research is murder, shouldn't Bush call for outlawing the practice? As opponents of the legislation frequently note, the fight at hand is not about banning stem cell research, for such work is under way in labs across the United States—just without federal funding. (The counter-argument is that absent federal support, researchers are at a distinct disadvantage.) Under Bush's definition, these researchers are engaged in homicide.

more...

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/07/19/cell_phony.php

[ProSense]

1. Why hasn't Bush rushed...a bill banning all embryonic stem cells research?

From OP link.