Gov't funding for Stem Cells

P_RN, ADN, RN · Aug 10, 2001

Brandy, I'm not sure what you are saying.

My (perhaps unpopular view) is that good people must protect 'embryonic people' at the most defenseless time of their life.

I do appreciate Bush showing restraint, however I also fear that technology/researchers do not care what he says. The 60 'lines' of cells will only last 2 years approximately. Then???

P

BrandyBSN · Aug 10, 2001

Its ok, I know that not everyone feels the same way that I do. I guess the difference between us is that I do not consider these cell clusters to be life. They will be thrown away in the end regardless, and i feel that if someone could benefit from them, then they should. Yes, Bush did show restraint, and I think he did the right thing. Its a small step in what I feel like is the right direction.

It really does change things if you feel like it is taking a life. If i

felt that it was, im positive that I would feel differently. And with that in mind, i can definately respect you in your thought that it might lead to more difficult decisions down the road. I am Pro-life personally, meaning that I would never consider abortion as an option in my own life, and I am Pro-choice professionally, meaning that I think it is a decision that Each and every one of us has to decide for themselves. I would never try to push

my view on others one way or another.

As with most decisions in life, there are good points to each side. I personally had a great grandfather would had parkinsons, and i lived with him for a year before he died. That might be one of the reasons that I feel the way I do. However I can see the other side too in that this is a life (not my personal opinion, but many do) and should be sacred. But to think that way, i would have to conclude that discarding the extra embryos is wrong as well, and that is a hard line to draw...

But I can respect your point of view, and in that, i will agree that we must proceed with caution.

BrandyBSN

Lisa32 · Aug 10, 2001

I agree with Brandy, and I am Pro-Choice. Consider all the people at a young age getting terrible diseases that might have a cure! Is it so wrong to use stem cells from laboratory grown embryos? It's not like they're taking them from women's uteruses. I applaud President Bush's decision also. I think he gave it a lot of thought-and something else to be considered as well-what about cord cells? They only throw that away anyway-that is a potential source of stem cells. I'm hoping they can eventually make stem cells from synthetic materials and that the body won't reject them-I think that would make everyone happy.:)

Mijourney · Aug 10, 2001

Hi. I'm going to stick my neck out on this one. P_RN, I think you may be on track with your assessment. I don't quite understand specific details of stem cell research, but it sounds like a quick fix of sorts to me. Living life and taking the good and the bad I thought was all a part of character building and what life is about. It seems to me that we continue to overly focus on treatment and cure (medical model) and in this case, we want to preserve, enhance, or renew bodies that were not created to last. I believe the devil will get completely in the details in stem cell research and man will increasingly fail to draw the line with ethical and moral issues as bioengineering continues to evolve. Also, if funding continues to grow in this area, does this mean that prevention and health promotion activities will once again fall to the bottom of the priority list?

We finally need to acknowledge that everyone won't get access to the results of stem cell research if it is successful for the supposed intended purposes. Does this mean that while some lives are being prolonged, others get legally euthanized? I was under the impression that the world was over populated with people. Is that not the case? I just don't get a good feeling about stem cell research even though I'm still not clear on all the facts.

Lisa32 · Aug 10, 2001

Good point, mijourney. I'm a big one for prevention too. I was thinking of Michael J. Fox and his Parkinson's.

BeachNurse · Aug 11, 2001

I agree with Brandy as well. Remember, even though government funding may run out, private funding could still fund this type of research and probably will when the benefits become apparent.

Couples seeking infertility treatment decide all the time (and have done so for years) whether to destroy, donate to other couples, or donate to research "extra" embryos from IVF procedures. What would you rather do-destroy an embryo or use it to save a life? Embryos are not people. They are not fetuses. They are clusters of cells. When I worked in IVF I would estimate that 98% of couples chose to donate the remaining embryos to research. It's a good thing, in my opinion.

teamrn · Aug 11, 2001

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle

Not my thought, but one of a gal named Caroline in response to another post. I've heard every argument for and against the decision announced last evening, and if WE ALL used the above rationale to live our everyday lives, we'd have less strife.

Personally, I'm for stem cell research, but I really understand how and why others cannot in GOOD conscience agree with me. I have a perspective that comes from wanting to relieve the suffering that I see (heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, parkison's...). I'm sure others have equally good justification and are lead by their consciences. Many feel that the same end can be reached by a different means; but I'm not convinced, and the scientist in me needs has yet to see 'these other means.'

Annie ;

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Aug 11, 2001

Does anyone know why the stem cells from umbilical cords are not collected and used for this research. They are plentiful, and cheap, and noncontroversial. I haven't heard them mentioned in debate though except some people mention in passing that they exist. If we used them couldn't we just drop the topic of embryonic stem cells?

Lisa32 · Aug 11, 2001

I think I heard they are not quite as viable, although they are harvesting them.

JillR · Aug 11, 2001

I am all for funding of stem cell research. I do not think that we should create embryos to destroy for any reason. I do think it is okay to use embryos that are going to be destroyed anyway.

I would just like to ask a few questions for some of you that are against stem cell reseach.

Is it okay to create embryos artificially so that couples who can't concieve can have a chance to have a child? If so, then what should be done with the extra embyos and who is to decide? If these embyos are going to be thrown out, is it then okay to use them for research? If not would it be okay if it was your child that could be saved for cured from this research?

If it is not okay to artificially create and purposly destroy an embyo for research purposes, why is it okay to do this for the purpose of having a child of your own, and then destroy or let die the remaining embryos?

Why are we so many people so worried about a few cells when other countries are planning to begin to clone humans? Does this not sound really backwards to anyone, or is it just me?

As for prevention.....How can you prevent someone from getting Parkingsons, Alzheimers and such? How can you prevent you child from having diabetes? For many, it is way too late for prevention, or it was not possible at all.

I am not trying to get into an arguement here. I honestly want to understand how everyone thinks about these issues, because I see it not just as one issue, but as all of these put together. To me, these things are not just black and white, there are huge ethical dilemma that go along with any research.

Nurse2BinNC · Aug 11, 2001

I have to agree with " JILLR" My 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in June of 2000. There is NO family history of Diabetes on either side of her family. With that being said, How could we have prevented this terrible disease from invading my dauther. There are some disease that there is no prevention for, the only hope is to find a cure. I have always been Pro-Life, I myself could never have an abortion. But if the people who do are consenting to allow the research and if these frozen embryo's in the IVF clinics are going to be destroyed anyway, I feel it is best to use these for research to save others lives. I applaud Pres Bush for allowing this research to continue, And hopefully they will find a cure for the diseases that are ravaging our country. I do not want to offend anyone here, especially since I am new here, but I would do anything to prevent the suffering that my little girl goes thru every day of her young life.