Stemcells! Stemcells! Everywhere! And not a drop to drink!

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

Stemcells! Stemcells! Everywhere! And not a drop to drink!

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

My opinion is that research has probably shown that drinking stemcells is probably a bad idea.

I don't really have a strong opinion, but I do have a vague inclination that 'creating life' in order to experiment on it is a generally bad idea. And what's more, it's kind of a slippery slope.

I don't much care about government funding. It seems like there could be some medical progress from the research, but there are other more pressing priorities for funding. IMO.

lineuponline · Veteran Member

There are three types of political topics:

Thinking issues (answers based on philosophy / legalities)
Feeling issues (answers based on provoking emotional reactions)
Financial issues (budgeting / spending)

Type #2 are the most prevalent topics in American politics, and this is horrid. Abortion and gay marriage are lame topics, meaning they are completely insignificant, meaning they don't make a darn bit of difference one way or the other, just so that people can *feel* good about how righteous their society is based on a law that a lay man would exclaim "duh."

To illustrate just how lame they are, let's go through this:

What's the Lord's answer on abortion issue: see the official Church's position. Meanwhile instead of a real debate that arrives on the same conclusion of the Church, people scream "OMG they're gonna force you to have babies! Those fascists!" and "OMG think of the children! The precious children! Those monsters!" Issue never gets solved, as Americans never get around to thinking about how horrid Big Pharma is becoming.

Regarding gay marriage: I start by asking, what's the difference between a marriage and a civil union? Answer: a religious ceremony. Next question, can government stop a religious ceremony? Answer: no - Separation of Church and State. Therefore if you allow civil union, that IS a gay marriage. Period. And only lawyers realize this while everyone's freaking out "OMG it's so not equal rights! Persecution!" and "OMG the gays are marrying! We must save our family values!" Issue never gets solved, as Americans never get around to realizing how the US is close to 50-60 trillion in debt.

And so my answer on stemcells: It's yet another insignificant topic to spark emotional reactions and divert the populous from things of real importance. Edit: embryonic stem-cell research, to clarify.

-- Edited by lineuponline at 17:28, 2006-08-30

arbilad · Head Chef

I think that adult stem cell research is great. It has shown miraculous results in restoring mobility to paralyzed people, for instance. Since the cells are harvested from the person in question (frequently from inside the nose) there are no ethical questions regarding harvesting.
Embryonic stem cell research is fraught with problems. It has not yet worked as a treatment in any clinical trial. What it has done is create clumps of random cells, including hair cells, in the area where they're inserted. Sometimes they create cancer. Not to mention that the harvesting method is fraught with moral problems.
In my mind, adult stem cells are by and far the clear winner.
On the other question, I don't think that the government should be in the business of funding any kind of scientific research. But then again, I'm a proponent of very limited government.