Tuesday, August 18, 2009

None of This Stuff Works


Embryonic Stem Cell Research Five Years after Proposition 71


When the campaign for California's 2004 Proposition 71 was underway, Californians were inundated with claims that stem cells taken from embryos were the magical key to curing any number of diseases and medical conditions. At the time MSNBC reported: "The passage of the measure — designed to get around the Bush administration's restrictions on the funding of such research — will likely put California at the forefront of the field and dwarfs all current stem cell projects in the United States, whether privately or publicly financed." 

Those who opposed the destruction of human embryos for research, including the Catholic Church, were derided as being "anti-science." But as advances in the treatment of diseases and medical conditions using adult stem cells multiply daily and the technical limitations of embryonic stem cells remain, it appears that the Church's morally correct position was scientifically correct. These advances, well known to scientists, have not been given the attention in the mainstream media, although they are having to sit up and take notice. On March 31, 2009 Dr. Mehmet Oz shocked Oprah Winfrey, guest Michael J. Fox , and Oprah's audience, by stating categorically that "the stem cell debate is dead" and that the future lay with adult stem cells. 


Continue reading here: http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=714aadd9-f036-4ee3-b74c-244b431867dd