Against embrionic stem cell research

[lily]

After reading Red Cons's poll on stem cell, I'm curious. Of those that oppose embrionic stem cell research. Heaven forbid you develope a disease that the only cure for it has been found by embrionic stem cell research, would you use that cure?

[bobbyR]

I'm not against embryonic stem cell research. I'm merely against spending a lot of government dough on it until the potential benefits are more clear.

[Zan de Man]

And how will you find out what the benefits are likely to be without ... errm .... research?

Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who said he was opposed to spending government money to fund intellectual curiosity? How appropriate.

[bobbyR]

And how will you find out what the benefits are likely to be without ... errm .... research?Exactly. So what's the problem? Is government the only institution that does research anymore?

Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who said he was opposed to spending government money to fund intellectual curiosity? How appropriate.

And yet, the 80s saw an amazing amount of research and technological development.

[sir digalot]

BRING ON THE BABIES....

ohh sorry bad taste there...

but that is my middle name..bad taste! ;)

i want ot see an end to the archaic diseases that plague us due to ineffective treatment nad the ability to produce zillions of dollars for drug companies..

needles suffering and stress on diseases that couldbe dealt with and cured... and once we have a greater understanding of the stem cells we can forget the embryonic bit as we can develope the therapy further possibly using mature stem cells, but right now it is easier with the embyonic ones that would be goingto waste anyway.. i say use them and help someone else lead a happier life

[lily]

And how will you find out what the benefits are likely to be without ... errm .... research?Exactly. So what's the problem? Is government the only institution that does research anymore?

Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who said he was opposed to spending government money to fund intellectual curiosity? How appropriate.

And yet, the 80s saw an amazing amount of research and technological development.

Bobby, it is not only funding. There are restrictions. We have lost many good scientists because of this. They are going to the UK, North Korea, and China...........CHINA for God's sake!

[sir digalot]

china.. god all we need is more clones of them over there... damn don;t they have enough people yet?

[bobbyR]

Bobby, it is not only funding. There are restrictions. We have lost many good scientists because of this. They are going to the UK, North Korea, and China...........CHINA for God's sake!

I'm well aware of the restrictions and I don't like them. But the question was only about funding.

[potter]

Perhaps by wiping out disease humans are changing the natural order of things. Perhaps nature (or God if you will) introduces disease to control populations at a level that can be sustained by the surrounding environment. Perhaps we're not supposed to cure these diseases.

Just a though folks....

[bobbyR]

So you're saying that they might be nature's method of population control? Maybe. My opinion, however, is that if God never intended for us to cure certain diseases, he/she wouldn't have given us the means to cure them.

[potter]

So you're saying that they might be nature's method of population control? Maybe. My opinion, however, is that if God never intended for us to cure certain diseases, he/she wouldn't have given us the means to cure them.

Yup....there is also that.

[RedCon1]

Perhaps nature (or God if you will) introduces disease to control populations at a level that can be sustained by the surrounding environment.

If it ever comes to that, we've always got warfare and starvation.

[lily]

I'm well aware of the restrictions and I don't like them. But the question was only about funding.

Actually, funding wasn't in the question.

[lily]

Perhaps by wiping out disease humans are changing the natural order of things. Perhaps nature (or God if you will) introduces disease to control populations at a level that can be sustained by the surrounding environment. Perhaps we're not supposed to cure these diseases.

Just a though folks....

Polio
Smallpox
just to name two. Hell, people used to die from broken bones.

[bobbyR]

I'm well aware of the restrictions and I don't like them. But the question was only about funding. Actually, funding wasn't in the question. Regardless, my opposition is in the government funding department. You also sort of implied that you were building on Redcon's poll, which is about funding.

[toolman846]

"Hell, people used to die from broken bones. "

Still do. Particularly if that bone is their skull.

[spindok]

I dont think the funding issue is about increasing the level of funding, just removing restrictions on current funds. At the university level NIH grants are key to a lot of the research that goes on in basic science questions that might not get done by for-profit companies. Also it is important for training of new scientists in the field.

(bobbyR)So you're saying that they might be nature's method of population control? Maybe. My opinion, however, is that if God never intended for us to cure certain diseases, he/she wouldn't have given us the means to cure them.

Intersting that you mention that. This is the reasoning of Islamic and Jewish opinion on the issue. In both of those religions it is a moral obligation to use knowlege to advance human life and health.

The Washington based Islamic Institute stated, “Under Islamic principle of the ‘purposes and higher causes of the Shari’ah (Islamic law),’ we believe it is a societal obligation to perform research on these extra embryos instead of discarding them.”13Several Islamic scholars have also pointed out that cloning embryos for therapeutic uses would also be permitted.14Many Islamic scholars also point to the belief that all knowledge emanates fromGod and that as such, human beings have an obligation to use that knowledge to serve 11However, there is no one unified juridical body representing all of Islam. Different countries follow different interpretations of the Qur’an.

According to Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, since an embryo in the lab is not in a woman’s womb, it is not in its natural environment and can not survive, therefore leading Dr. Siddiqi to believe that an embryo is not human at that stage of development.

Like Judaism, Islam places an obligation on its followers to seek out knowledge, scientific knowledge in particular, since it is a part of human nature as created by God.16As stated by Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina: ‘The will of God’ in the Koran has often been interpreted as the processes of nature uninterfered with by human action. Hence, in Islam, research on stem cells made possible by biotechnical intervention in the early stages of life is regarded as an act of faith in the ultimate will of God as the Giver of all life, as long as such an intervention is undertaken with the purpose of improving human health.17


Spindok

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:IodtLXkLFnMJ:www.camlaw.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_56.pdf+islam+stem+cell+research&hl=en