Harsh Times

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos donated (with consent) from in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos must be deemed in excess and created based solely for the purpose of fertility treatment.

        So these clinics are originally set up for people who are having trouble making a baby.  They get the egg, get the sperm, mix it up in a medium, allow the sperm to get up in there, and then put it back in the mom’s whatever (uterus). 

        In effect, what exceedingly generous people want is for people to line up to do this without the intention of staying pregnant.  They want the egg and sperm to develop into an embryo, take it out of the mom (and correct me if I’m wrong on this sequence of events, but to the best of my knowledge, you can’t get an embryo without natural incubation in the mom), and suck stem cells out of the embryo…

NOTE:  An embryo is a person during the second period of prenatal development.  A person is characterized as an embryo 2 weeks after conception and lasts in this characterization until about week 9.

…thereby terminating the pregnancy.  Sounds like another form of abortion to me.

        Anyway, Obama’s website has a vague and peculiar way (like the rest of the short paragraphs on all of the issues) of attempting to justify the action.  It says that the embryos ‘must be deemed in excess’.  What exactly does that mean? 

        “You know, we really don’t need all these eggs and sperm,” says mom and dad. 

        Secondly, who would deem them so?  Also, wouldn’t this create a new greed-influenced market where possible [monetary] incentives would conveniently increase the quantity of those ‘deemed’ embryos? Wouldn’t the firms that extract and research those stem cells be partial to slipping the ‘deem captain’ a few bucks to get them some more research material?  Of course that is all speculation, but very probably in my opinion if you think about a logical chain of events.

Addressing the Moral Concerns of Advanced Technology

            Stem cell research offers tremendous hope for those suffering from a variety of deadly diseases - hope for both cures and life-extending treatments. However, the compassion to relieve suffering and to cure deadly disease cannot erode moral and ethical principles.
                For this reason, John McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes. To that end, Senator McCain voted to ban the practice of "fetal farming," making it a federal crime for researchers to use cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes. Furthermore, he voted to ban attempts to use or obtain human cells gestated in animals. Finally, John McCain strongly opposes human cloning and voted to ban the practice, and any related experimentation, under federal law.
                As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that do not involve the use of human embryos.
                Where federal funds are used for stem cell research, Senator McCain believes clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress, and that any such research should be subject to strict federal guidelines.

                I would like to point out how much more detailed McCain’s position is on the issue.  It’s much harder to figure out if McCain is trying to pull one over on you, and has very little question.  Even if you were on the opposite side of the table at least you would know where he stands.  This is not traditional political strategy.  You want to do what Obama does, which is to stay vague so that you can precise your position when it benefits you later. 

        A good example of this is his position on Iraq.  He wants to end it.  A while ago he wanted all troops back by March of 2008, which, of course, was a mute trumpet because he didn’t have the power, the influence, or stamina of convincing all of Congress and Senate, and the President to do so.  It was a simply a pretty tune to firstly placate the anti-war folks, and secondly, to entice his prospective voters. 

        Now, he still says he wants to end the war.

        Great man, so do I!  The question is, when?  Now? Later?  Or perhaps when the job is done?  Most successful people (which is what I’d like to be) like to finish what they started.  However, he added this little snippet of information to his bold statement:  ‘Responsibly’.  He wants to end it responsibly.  Tell me how is this any different than how I, McCain, or the rest of logical America want to end it?  Again, shouting out key words that draw in the numb and mesmerized. 

        I seriously do not understand the Obama voter.  I would be rather offended if someone thought of me as so easily captured.