(Have you taken action? Blogged about this? Harrassed activist orgs to rally their members? If not... do that first, and THEN come back and read this)
Hot off the presses -- Senator Frist has just confirmed that HR 810, the most critical stem cell bill in years, will be debated on Monday, and voted on Tuesday.
I'll be blunt -- the progressive community has been 99% AWOL on this issue, aside from notable exceptions (DefCon, Working Assets, and Kos's help on StemPAC). The patient community has been fighting this nearly alone.
Please contact your Senator today, and demand a YES vote on HR 810. Go to StemPac.com. Go to Working Assets. Go to DefCon. Just go SOMEWHERE, and send an email, make a call, and hopefully -- make a difference.
I know I've kvetched about it before, but... it's worth re-kvetching... we're talking about research that could offer cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, paralysis, and a host of other ailments. This isn't pie in the sky -- it's very real.
So while I understand that people have a lot on their plates, I hope you'll understand that I find it hard to believe that something of this magnitude can't be a priority for people for at least the next few days.
I just was at a conference where people who were literally paralyzed managed to get across the country to fight for this cause. If they can get off their asses -- surely we can too.
Need more motivation? Here are a few of the folks you could be helping (more stories at www.stempac.com/stories/).
1) "My now 9-year-old son was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes, a chronic, incurable disease, when he was only 7. Because his pancreas no longer works at all, he must poke his finger for blood sugar tests around 10 times every day..."
http://www.stempac.com/... for full story
2) "Sam was diagnosed on January 3rd 2003, at the age of 2 1/2 years old. He was in severe DKA, and we did not know if he would live through the night. That was the beggining to our horror story. Sam is now almost 5 and his sugar levels are still very unstable. He has to have 3 shots a day, and around 10 finger pokes. His fingers are so callused and scared, no child should have to go through so much pain on a daily basis. But inspite of everything he goes through, he is the best natured and sweetest little boy you will ever know..."
http://www.stempac.com/... for full story
3) "Being paralized is the hardest obstacle that i will ever have to face in my life. I am suffering from spinal cord injury from my waist down, this happened to be because someone decided to shot me after taking my money. I was robed and then shot about three months ago. I had to undergo surgery for them to remove the bullet, then i had to stay at a rehab center for about a month so i can adjust to being paralized. I used to think my life was bad before but after all this i feel as though my life was a peice of cake before. I am 20 years old and the doctors tell me that i will never walk again..."
http://www.stempac.com/... for full story
4) "My family is affected by Huntington's Disease, which is a genetic hereditary neurological disorder with no known cure. The disease has been described as having the physical symptoms of Parkinsons and mental affects of Alzheimer's. Research led to the discovery of the Huntington's Disease gene in 1993. The gene is inherited at birth, but the symptoms do not usually develop until the ages of 25 and 50. The disease causes brain cell death in the areas affecting motor movement and cognitive ability. Two of my three aunts have tested positive and are now in the middle stages of the disease. They find it difficult to walk, talk, swallow, follow simple instructions..."
http://www.stempac.com/... for full story
5) "In 1993 my father, Juan, had a devastating stroke. It resulted in 80% of his cerebellum being destroyed. After 6 months in a coma my father awoke to his new fate. Not being able to walk, go to the restroom by himself, cook, shave, brush his own teeth, or even be able to communicate verbally with his own..."
http://www.stempac.com/... for full story