Republicans and Stem Cells
I just read an interesting article at time.com, “Why Science Can’t Save the GOP” by Michael Kinsley. In this article, Kinsley writes about the glee most Republicans must have about the recent discovery that skin cells can be converted to stem cells, which saves them from having to rationalize why people must die of potentially-curable diseases for the sake of embryos. He writes:
The issue has been agony for many Republicans, torn between the majority of voters, eager for the benefits of this scientific advance, and the small but intense minority who believe that a clump of a few dozen cells floating in a petri dish has the same human rights as you or I.
He also points out the fact that this breakthrough does not mean that embryonic stem cell research should be stopped:
First, even the scientists who achieved the latest success believe strongly that embryonic-stem-cell research should continue. No one knows for sure whether the new method of producing pluripotent cells will pan out or where the next big developments will come from. We are still many thresholds away from anything that can be of practical value to me and others. Scientifically, it makes no sense to abandon any promising avenue just because another has opened up.
I don’t think Kinsley hits hard enough, though. He shows the hypocrisy in trying to protect embryos that are in a situation where they are mass-produced and most will die, but that’s about as far as he goes in naming the problem with the standard Republican stance on this position. I think the real problem is that conservatives are willing to sacrifice people for their religious beliefs, and the stem cell debate is just one example of that. Their focus is not on saving human life, but on following a set of beliefs that could potentially cause themselves and others harm. So even though this breakthrough may provide scientists with a way around the debate, I have no doubt that there will be more scientific breakthroughs or life-saving cures in the future that some may feel is immoral. And when it happens, conservatives will try to block it. That’s the problem, and it hasn’t gone away.
Tags: [republicans, stem cells]