The truth about the technical challenges and scientific hurdles for embryonic stem-cell (ESC) therapies is finally getting out. The truth, of course, is that there are no human embryonic stem-cell therapies even in clinical trial, let alone ready for therapy, and there have been no major treatment models in animals, either. Adult stem cells, however, have already been successful in treating more than seventy different diseases in actual human beings.
Readers of First Things are well aware that the main objection to current methods of embryonic stem-cell research is that they involve the destruction of living human embryos, that is, human beings at the embryonic stage in their lives. This is a principled objection to the direct and intentional killing of human beings.
There is no principled objection to stem-cell research, not even to embryonic stem-cell research, provided that methods that do not destroy embryos are pursued… . .
Big note Meanwhile, adult stem-cell therapies are healing patients now—despite the fact that they receive only a fraction of the funding.
October 15, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Yes, I was aware of this – it seems little more than an attempt to bring back eugenic thinking by the back door. No moral absolutes, only what is useful – except in this case it isn’t even of much use.