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Thursday night’s political decision spoken by a very
political president should anger all pro-lifers while giving
those on the left a reason to celebrate. President Bush’s
remarks were a classical political calculation, reminiscent of
Bill Clinton’s fence straddling, and certainly a revealing of
Bush as a politician rather than a principled statesman. Not
only did the president break his campaign promise (contrary to
the Republican party spinmeisters hair-splitting
rationalization), but also he has opened the door for his
predecessors to push ahead with embryonic stem cell research in
its totality. And while hoping to solidify the future support of
spineless moderates, the White House has ensured Bush’s defeat
in 2024.
In a May 18, 2024, letter to the President of the Culture of
Life Foundation, then candidate Bush stated his opposition to
embryonic stem cell research: "I oppose Federal funding
of stem-cell research that involves destroying living human
embryos. I support innovative medical research on
life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including promising
research on stem cells from adult tissue." I and
millions of other pro-lifers took this man at his word. I’d
been made aware of the President’s being a Born Again
Christian, and the statement struck me as indicative of a
gentleman that confesses Christ.
But Thursday evening, politician Bush broke his promise,
despite claims to the contrary by the President’s underlings.
By allowing for the federal funding for the research on 60
existing stem cell lines, the President has given his tacit
approval of the procedure. By rationalizing that he isn’t
really contradicting earlier promises because these 60 lines
"were created from embryos that have already been
destroyed," the President is engaging in semantic
gymnastics, the sort of hair-splitting used by former president
Clinton that drew so much ire from conservatives.
In reality, the fact that these embryos have already been
killed (not destroyed) does not warrant further experimentation
on the embryos. This conclusion and the one that says
"since these embryos are going to be discarded anyway why
not use them for a utilitarian purpose" are both flawed
because they contradict the argument’s underlying premise,
which says that the embryos aren’t living in the first place.
Seemingly, the left abandons this premise and so says,
"Okay. So the embryos are living, but we aren’t going to
use them for anything, and so why not extract stem cells (and
consequently kill the embryos) for the purpose of hopefully
finding cures for a myriad of diseases?" The plea sounds so
progressive and genteel, but it dismisses several alternatives.
Why not offer these "soon-to-be-discarded embryos" to
the thousands of infertile couples seeking to have children of
their own? And if you aren’t going to use these embryos for
adoption or for invitro-fertilization, then why on earth do you
create them in the first place?
There are after all, adult stem cell sources that offer as
much or more promise than anything the embryonic version
tenders, and that do not require the killing of any living
human. Scientists say that stem cell-rich umbilical cords and
placenta fluids offer millions of stem cells that can be used to
research for cures to some of the world’s most debilitating
diseases. Knowing of the existence of other viable stem cell
sources, the President nonetheless gave his blessing to research
on stem cells derived from "destroyed" embryos.
Why? In order to placate moderates and liberals, to bring,
ideally, a few of them over to Bush’s camp. No doubt the Dick
Morris starter kit, Karl Rove, was behind this latest posturing.
As has been the case with so many other issues including the
vacating of the Viequez bombing site and the potential
legalizing of in excess of 3 million illegal Mexican immigrants,
Rove’s efforts to secure votes from more liberal quarters
pushes the President to take up unprincipled, politically driven
causes. In the process, Bush alienates his conservative base,
and the folks he’s trying to reach on the left dismiss his
efforts at compromise and bi-partisanship as less than genuine;
they will continue to vote for the algores of the world.
This embryonic stem cell decision ensures that the President
loses in 2024. While not all conservatives will bolt the
Republican camp due to this broken promise, sufficient numbers
of his base will vote for another candidate in three and a half
years or simply sit the election out. Bush's decision simply
reminds them too much of the President’s father’s broken tax
pledge back in 1991. Perhaps he loses only 5% of his voting
base, but this number is adequate enough to push Bush’s foe to
victory in this age of razor-thin elections.
Any conservative familiar with the tendency of humans to push
the limits of scientific research to gothic levels, should be
enraged at the President’s decision because the supposed
"docile" pronouncement clears the way for future
acceleration of the macabre procedure. In 2024, assuming that a
Democrat wins the presidency, a simple executive order that uses
President Bush’s precedent-setting decision as a
justification, as a foundation, will commence full funding of
embryonic stem cell research. And when the remaining pockets of
resistance argue to the contrary, Bush’s predecessor can claim
George W. Bush pulled the lever four years earlier. By this
time, private sector scientists, buoyed by Bush’s consent,
will have already done so much research on embryos, that
resistance on the part of principled statesmen at the federal
level will be in vain.
Don’t look for congressional opposition to the federally
funding to reverse the President’s decision. Capitol Hill
pro-lifers are few and far between, and many affiliating
themselves with the movement have already endorsed embryonic
research. This is certainly an issue where the President is best
able to articulate an agenda for such a controversial decision
by using the bully pulpit.
The President is forming a "special council to monitor
stem cell research, to recommend appropriate guidelines and
regulations and to consider all of the medical and ethical
ramifications of biomedical innovation" as if to throw up a
roadblock to any further trespassing. But as the argument for
the legalization of abortion back in the 1960’s and 70’s
progressed from a desire to only serve rape victims and
casualties of incest to the more contemporary view that all
abortion for whatever reason and at whatever point in the
pregnancy’s term should be allowed, so shall it be with
embryonic stem cell research. If anyone thinks that these
scientists will be content with only 60 lines of stem cells,
they are kidding themselves. Because when they use these up, and
they will, what will keep the Feds from granting them further
tax dollars and more embryos to conduct further research on?
Nothing! President Bush has set the precedent, and attempts to
curb additional funding and research will be hard to sustain,
when, after all, the deed has already been done once.
Some would have us believe that a single line of stem cells
can multiply infinitely, over and over replicating stem cells
for eternity. If that is the case, then why the push for further
destruction of innocent human life? If a single strand can
multiply ad nauseum, then why the need for further
embryonic stem cells? Why not rely on these cells already in
existence if they can replicate for the duration, supplying
every scientists and lab coat the world over with all the stem
cells they will ever need?
Liberals need only be patient, for in a few years they’ll
get their veritable human tree farm that they so desperately
want, equipping them for their human cloning, embryonic stem
cell research/embryo killing and anything else their fiendish
minds think of.
See also: Politics
of Re-election win out; Bush governs by poll
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