S 30, which calls for the development of future embryonic stem cell lines from "dead embryos" is being rediculed by leading scientists.
"The scientific community is just laughing at this," said Thomas Okarma, chief executive of Geron, a company based in Menlo Park, Calif., that says it is close to starting the first U.S. human tests of a therapy based on embryonic stem cells. Even if live cells could be isolated from embryos that everyone might agree are dead, he said, such cells would be especially likely to be abnormal.
"I couldn't imagine using these for a therapeutic product," Okarma said.
The irony is that not a single embryo was lost in the war against disease thus far. The 300+ already existing embryonic stem cell lines, which are currently not eligible for federally funded research, were developed from medical waste, much like the way we recycle umbilical cord blood stem cells from medical waste.
Actually I think this cartoon expresses it best:
So to have scientists sort through that medical waste to select embryos which prior to being discarded were considered "dead" is ludicrous.
Even the embryos which were viable prior to being discarded will be "dead" in the trash. So what's the point in having scientists go through detours to determine which embryos were "dead" prior to being discarded?
Every single day thousands are being discarded at fertility clinics all across the USA.
S 30 is just political posturing which causes cruel and deadly delays in developing cures from this cutting edge science.
Stop the SYMBOLISM at the expense of REAL LIVES!!
S 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act is the ONLY WAY TO GO!
Bottom line is that Bush's ill conceived policies on both the Iraq war and the Stem cell research issue has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, while not a single embryo has been saved from "destruction".