Superman is dead
Everyone has pretty much said their goodbyes to Christopher Reeve, but I wanted to touch on a point that many people have glossed over.
Christoper Reeve was a HUGE proponent of stem-cell research. If stem-cell research was more widely supported by our president, maybe Superman would still be alive today. Maybe, maybe not. The point is, we’ll never know if we are not allowed to do such research, and Bush and his wife have made their thoughts on this VERY clear.
This is yet another checkmark in a growing list of reasons why we shouldn’t vote for Bush. It’s sad that a death like this happened, but it sure puts an exclamation point on the argument FOR stem-cell research, doesn’t it?
October 13, 2004 @ 6:16 am
Not that I’m an advocate of any research block at all, but it should be explicitly stated that the Bush administration’s block was on *federal financing of embyro stem-cell research.* That’s a long way from banning stem-cell research in general.
October 13, 2004 @ 9:43 am
True, but I never stated that there was a ban. I simply stated that Bush is against Stem Cell research in general, and it has been obvious in many interviews. That block on federal financing could be just the tip of the ice berg.
I’m just having a problem with his religious views dictating his policy. It’s not quite the “separation of church and state” that we should have. Religion is trumping science in this case which helps no one.
-Grey
October 13, 2004 @ 2:17 pm
The whole “ban on funding isn’t a real ban” argument gets pretty shaky if you talk to research scientists. See, private funding is great for solving specific, detailed problems or producing drugs/medications. Where it is seriously lacking, though, is in the area of general, early investigation research – the sort usually performed at our top-notch universities. There’s no incentive for money-making businesses to do research that isn’t likely to lead to a near-term product that can be sold. Traditionally, that gap has been filled by government-funded research programs. CAN the private sector research stem-cell treatments? Yes. WILL they? No.
Giving Bush credit for being the ‘only US President to allow any stem-cell research’ is a neat semantic trick. Stem-cell research wasn’t a possibility until very recently. In effect, President Bush’s policy was a response to new scientific development, and he ultimately said: hm, interesting science, but it conflicts with my religious beliefs – stop it. It isn’t an EXPLICIT ban, but it is an IMPLICIT ban.
I’m with you, Grey (*shocking, I know*): religion shouldn’t trump science.