No Embryonic Boondoggle in Maryland
When the Maryland legislature adjourned its three month annual session last week, it seemed like a three-ring circus with some good and some bad results. Thankfully, a dubious initiative to use Maryland taxpayer dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research did not make it through the process.
For more background on the moral problems with embryonic stem cell research and on more promising ethical alternatives, check out Do No Harm.
3 comments:
Very informative blog. Keep'em coming!
I am a new reader and was following the Maryland legislation independently myself and am relieved to find that the decision has been made not to fund embryonic stem cell research.
I am alarmed with the ease that some state legislators and political pundits are lobbying to work around the ban. I wanted to bring to your attention that even on the heels of this good news, Senator Hatch has come out gunning for human cloning according to the associated press. His damaging comments continue to muddy the layman's understanding of the issues and mislead the public. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research are interested only in the pursuit of a new industry. Thus far they refuse to acknowledge that technological advancements have out paced safeguards. Although the Presidential report from bioethics commission has voiced concern for the exploitation of women... the quest for research dollars continues almost unabaited.
Two articles about Senator Hatch's comments are available (4/23/05) - both sources are from Utah, but are likely available elsewhere. I found them at CellNews, I was unable to link the article. Here's the address.
http://www.newutah.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=53304&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
http://www.geocities.com/giantfideli/CellNEWS_ALL_Latest_News.html
Nuts. Try this one, and it is part way down the page... 4/23.
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