Obama on Stem Cell Research

OBAMA: At this moment, the full promise of stem cell research remains unknown, and it should not be overstated. But scientists believe these tiny cells may have the potential to help us understand, and possibly cure, some of our most devastating diseases and conditions: to regenerate a severed spinal cord and lift someone from a wheelchair; to spur insulin production and spare a child from a lifetime of needles; to treat Parkinson’s, cancer, heart disease and others that affect millions of Americans and the people who love them.

In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering.

It’s a difficult and delicate balance. And many thoughtful and decent people are conflicted about, or strongly oppose, this research. And I understand their concerns, and I believe that we must respect their point of view.

Promoting science isn’t just about providing resources — it’s also about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about letting scientists like those who are here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it’s inconvenient — especially when it’s inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda — and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.

(The following comments are from Amy Proctor's blog; I wholeheartedly agree with them:)

Obama referred to President Bush, saying in the last “8 years” and “in recent years”, having the audacity of saying Bush “forced a false choice between sound science and moral values” ending by claiming himself to be a “person of faith”.

INCREDIBLE! This coming from a man who has no moral compass, who argued with the ACLU that “viable fetuses” surviving a botched abortion should be abandoned to asphyxiate rather than give that “fetus” civil protection under the law because that would connote the “fetus” was a living citizen within the womb. This from a man who doesn’t know science well enough to recognize embryonic stem cell research has benefited NO ONE in any research but that adult stem cells have yielded positive results.

If there is no conflict between “sound science” and “moral values”, why would Obama, who cannot even acknowledge when human life begins, not give the benefit of the doubt to the science that supports human life beginning at conception?

I’ll tell you why; because Obama knows damn well when life begins and he doesn’t care. He isn’t a “man of faith”, he is Hitleresque in the moral values he feigns holding so dear.

Obama kept saying during the campaign that we could find common ground on abortion, and in this speech he addressed the “thoughtful and decent people” who strongly oppose embryonic stem cell research because it destroys human life (that is a scientifically sound fact), but like every other Democrat what he actually means is pro-lifers should abandon their moral absolutes for scientific wishful thinking and ethical quagmires.

This would have been an excellent opportunity for Obama to say offer a concession, a bipartisan hand, to reach across the moral aisle and say, “There is no scientific data to indicate any benefit from using embryos so we’ll continue to use adult stem cells which have been proven to work, and I will respect the consciences of the pro-life community by not using their tax dollars to fund this futile project.”

Instead, he threw salt in the wounds.

It’s simple to see why Rush Limbaugh said, “I want to see Obama fail.”  So do I.