George Bush: The Champion Of Life?
George Bush is the undisputed champion of life. No wait, that's not quite right. George Bush is the undisputed champion of potential life. For the first time in his Presidency, Mr. Bush exercised his constitutional right to veto a bill passed by Congress, when he struck down the embryonic stem cell research bill. This bill would have loosened restrictions on federal funding for research that scientists believe could lead to significant breakthroughs in the treatment of spinal cord injuries, cancer, burns, diabetes, strokes and alzheimer's.
A quick primer on stem cells.
Stem cells are a type of cell with the potential to turn into any other type of cell. This flexibility means that they could be used to repair just about anything that goes wrong in the body. While adults do produce stem cells, it is believed that they are less adaptable than the embryonic version. Mr. Bush's objection is that in order to get them, unused frozen embryos that are stored at fertility clinics must be destroyed. He cites that some of these embryos were 'adopted' by childless couples who were able to gestate them into children. Essentially, he believes that destroying the embryos is equivalent to destroying life. OK, I can't ding someone who puts a premium on life.
But let's examine the Bush record on the value of life...
o While Governor of Texas, Mr. Bush presided over the execution of 154 individuals including some that were alleged to be mentally retarded.
o He cares so much about life that he launched a war based on evidence that he likely knew was faulty. The result has been the death, of over 2,000 American soldiers, many who were not equipped with proper body armor, and a much greater number of civilians.
o President Bush values life so highly that when Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast, he launched an immediate emergency response that saved over 1,300 lives. No wait, he didn't.
In almost every situation, when given the opportunity to show that he holds life sacred, President Bush has failed!
Mr. Bush would have you believe that, someday, every frozen embryo will be gestated and adopted. That's just not the case. While I certainly support making these embryos available to people who want to have families and cannot, the truth is that the embryonic supply FAR exceeds the demand. As a result, many of these embryos end up being destroyed. So, rather than allow them to be used in research that might save millions of lives worldwide, the President would rather see them thrown away. It's another case where Mr. Bush shows that he just doesn't get it.
So here's the deal:
o I hope that President Bush never has to watch his mother Barbara get taken a piece at a time, the way so many families of Alzheimer's victims have (And I know, because I'm from one of those families).
o I hope that he never has to watch his wife Laura wither away from the ravages of cancer.
o I hope that neither of his daughters ever have a car accident that leaves them a quadriplegic because of a spinal cord injury.
I hope that none of these tragedies ever personally touch the President, his family, or anyone whom he loves. But if they did, maybe he'd understand why his veto not only fails to affirm life, but why it seems like a death sentence to so many people.
A quick primer on stem cells.
Stem cells are a type of cell with the potential to turn into any other type of cell. This flexibility means that they could be used to repair just about anything that goes wrong in the body. While adults do produce stem cells, it is believed that they are less adaptable than the embryonic version. Mr. Bush's objection is that in order to get them, unused frozen embryos that are stored at fertility clinics must be destroyed. He cites that some of these embryos were 'adopted' by childless couples who were able to gestate them into children. Essentially, he believes that destroying the embryos is equivalent to destroying life. OK, I can't ding someone who puts a premium on life.
But let's examine the Bush record on the value of life...
o While Governor of Texas, Mr. Bush presided over the execution of 154 individuals including some that were alleged to be mentally retarded.
o He cares so much about life that he launched a war based on evidence that he likely knew was faulty. The result has been the death, of over 2,000 American soldiers, many who were not equipped with proper body armor, and a much greater number of civilians.
o President Bush values life so highly that when Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast, he launched an immediate emergency response that saved over 1,300 lives. No wait, he didn't.
In almost every situation, when given the opportunity to show that he holds life sacred, President Bush has failed!
Mr. Bush would have you believe that, someday, every frozen embryo will be gestated and adopted. That's just not the case. While I certainly support making these embryos available to people who want to have families and cannot, the truth is that the embryonic supply FAR exceeds the demand. As a result, many of these embryos end up being destroyed. So, rather than allow them to be used in research that might save millions of lives worldwide, the President would rather see them thrown away. It's another case where Mr. Bush shows that he just doesn't get it.
So here's the deal:
o I hope that President Bush never has to watch his mother Barbara get taken a piece at a time, the way so many families of Alzheimer's victims have (And I know, because I'm from one of those families).
o I hope that he never has to watch his wife Laura wither away from the ravages of cancer.
o I hope that neither of his daughters ever have a car accident that leaves them a quadriplegic because of a spinal cord injury.
I hope that none of these tragedies ever personally touch the President, his family, or anyone whom he loves. But if they did, maybe he'd understand why his veto not only fails to affirm life, but why it seems like a death sentence to so many people.
posted by John Fracchia at 11:12 PM
1 Comments:
Good article- A few notes
Quite a bit more than 2000 dead-There have been 2558 killed with 19000 wounded.
40000 on the Iraqi side, but who cares about them.
Those kids that Bush had around him when he announced the veto? Embryos that were adopted. They wouldn't have existed if not for significant embyological research.
food for thought
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