Stardate 20010708.0841 (On Screen): The Bush administration is wrestling with one of those no-win decisions which can't be ducked. There are going to be a bunch of them, but this particular one has to do with research into fetal stem cells. This research may lead to effective treatments or even cures for some terrible diseases which horribly inflict thousands of people. (In particular, it holds out great hope for a one-time cure for Parkinson's Disease and Juvenile-onset Diabetes. It may also be possible to treat spinal cord damage, bringing partial feeling and muscle control back to paraplegics.) On the other hand, it runs afoul of religious objections, since it is part of the abortion debate.
The Bush Administration is "floating a trial balloon" for a compromise, which is ultimately going to satisfy no-one. The idea is to slap the hands of the researchers and say "Naughty scientists! Killing fetuses is bad, but we'll forgive you this time as long as you promise not to do it again. But you can keep using the cells you've already harvested." From the religious point of view, this isn't acceptable. The scientists in question are already murderers who will now be permitted to keep using the cells harvested from their prior murders of fetuses and will be rewarded for it with government money. From the point of view of people like me, who don't think that abortion is inherently bad and don't harbor any moral objections to experiments involving human fetuses it is equally unacceptable. This research is too important to be stopped because of religious superstition, and the restrictions which would be placed on it by this limitation may prevent it from yielding the results which are needed. It may not be the case that stem cells can be reproduced indefinitely from the stock which now exists. They have a built-in mechanism which tries to make them differentiate with each successive cell-division. This ruling also prevents new researchers from getting into the field, and it may be that the ones already in it are not going to find the answers we so desperately need. Finally, any engineer or scientist knows the experience of realizing what mistake they made and knowing that they need to go back and do something again -- only the fetal stem cell researchers wouldn't be permitted to do so.
Like most trial balloons, this one is going to go down in flames. There are really only two defensible choices: full-out financing (angering the religious right) or complete moritorium (angering people like me). I prefer the former but I would prefer either of those two to the mealy-mouthed compromise which is being proposed. (discuss)
