Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Revisited: Does the nobility of hoped-for ends absolve us?

Yesterday, President Obama lifted the federal ban on the funding of human embryonic stem cell research. This means that taxpayers--in this time of economic recession and record deficit--will be paying for research resulting in the destruction of human embryos which may or may not result in clinical benefit for patients. The money to fund this research will be paid by taxpayers whether or not they believe the human embryo is a human person and whether or not they believe that the destruction of such a human person is morally repugnant.

I write this now in direct response to the 2004 CTSNet “In My Opinion” editorial by Dr. Lawrence I. Bonchek, which chastised the then President Bush for limiting federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research 1. The article elicited responses from Drs.

Tea Acuff and Lourens Willeke, both dissenting with Dr. Bonchek’s premise but for different reasons. Since Dr. Bonchek’s editorial was written, notable events have occurred in the field of stem ... more.

Yesterday, President Obama lifted the federal ban on the funding of human embryonic stem cell research. This means that taxpayers--in this time of economic recession and record deficit--will be paying for research resulting in the destruction of human embryos which may or may not result in clinical benefit for patients. The money to fund this research will be paid by taxpayers whether or not they believe the human embryo is a human person and whether or not they believe that the destruction of such a human person is morally repugnant.

I write this now in direct response to the 2004 CTSNet “In My Opinion” editorial by Dr. Lawrence I. Bonchek, which chastised the then President Bush for limiting federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research 1. The article elicited responses from Drs.

Tea Acuff and Lourens Willeke, both dissenting with Dr. Bonchek’s premise but for different reasons. Since Dr. Bonchek’s editorial was written, notable events have occurred in the field of stem ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.