Embryonic Stem Cell Research

 

The Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) shortly after President Obama was elected granted permission to begin the country's first embryonic stem cell treatment on human subjects. The FDA approved an application from the Geron Corporation to inject embryonic stem cells into 10 people paralyzed from the chest down by spinal chord injuries.

This permission fulfills a campaign promise made by President Obama last summer, when he promised he would overturn Bush's policy on funding for embryonic stem-cell research: "I strongly support expanding research on embryonic stem-cells, I will lift the current administrations' ban on federal funding on embryonic stem-cell lines:"the FDA's first approval for embryonic stem-cell in human trials came by telephone the day after the Obama inauguration.

Karen Riley, a spokesman at the FDA, stated that the approval does not reflect any Obama administration reversal of President Bush's executive order: "politics did not enter into the decision. The timing of the decision was driven by the date the Geron Co. submitted a response to the prior FDA request for additional information regarding the proposed trial."

We would respond, that embryonic stem-cell research has never cured or helped any patient to date. Great success has been obtained by the use of cord blood, and adult stem-cells. The debate really centers around abortion rights. The promoters of embryonic stem-cell research cannot admit that this research has produced no viable cure, because the killing of embryos for research really enshrines abortion as a moral imperative for science. In a tight economy why has the public not protested more against dumping monies into a futile research, when there is evidence that cannot be denied using cord blood and adult stem-cells.