Stem Cells

My favorite teenager has done it again: Liberals lying about stem cell options Gov. Jim Doyle warns, "The Republicans are coming! Lock up your stem-cell research!" To hear him tell it, you'd think a mountain of medical miracles faces extermination by a GOP inquisition. But as a liberal, Doyle has a nasty case of chronic lying. His opponent, Mark Green, favors stem-cell research, as everybody does. As a cosponsor of the 2005 Stem Cell Therapeutic & Research Act, Green helped toward major medical advances that will improve future lives. The bigger lie centers on the research itself. Conservatives enthusiastically support the incredible promise of adult stem cells; we oppose creating, experimenting upon and destroying embryos to harvest stem cells because human life is too precious to be abused. Like Dr. Frankenstein, liberals want no limits on scientific meddling with humanity. To achieve their monstrous ends, they claim only embryonic cells can transform into any cell type. But since 2002, scientists have made all three types of early cells out of adult cells. They don't tell you that, thanks to adult cells, we already have some cases of the paralyzed walking and the blind seeing again. In October 2004, National Review's James Kelly reported that a biotech company head actually covered a debater's mouth to keep Christopher Reeve from hearing about adult stem-cell potential! By contrast, embryonic stem cells haven't even been used in one human trial yet. Far from being the key to wonders upon wonders, embryonic cells are usually rejected by immune systems and often cause teratomas, or "monster tumors." If mankind's betterment were the true goal, Doyle would abandon embryonic cells and embrace adult research with open arms. But instead he's lying. We should ask why, and if that's really what we want from a governor. Calvin Freiburger Fond du Lac