Bush to stem cell community: Drop dead
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With his veto the president has now reaffirmed a policy that never made any sense, garnered no scientific support to speak of, was abandoned by both houses of Congress and the leaders of his own party and, most importantly, got no traction with those most in need of the benefits of the research -- patients and their families.This is yet another example of the dangerous drift our nation is taking away from science, away from the future and backwards toward superstition and ignorance. The worst part? The embryos Bush wants to "save" will be discarded regardless of his veto. They will never be used to help the most important people of all -- the ones who are actually living their lives, hoping for a cure to end their suffering. Today, Bush turned his back and walked away from those people and their families.The president has now told doctors, researchers and patients to drop dead. Science policy in the Bush administration is best made in the White House, not by scientists and not by Congress.
P.S. And he did it in virtual secrecy, barring the press from witnessing his shameful act.
God, and to think his legacy wasn't despicable enough.
Here's the thing: The "snowflake" babies? The 130 babies that were born from the frozen embryos at the fertility clinics? They represent 0.026% of the total number of embryos in frozen storage.
In other words, nearly 500 thousand frozen embryos will be discarded -- wasted, doomed to oblivion -- because of Bush's veto.
130 vs. 500,000
I'd love to think that all 500 thousand would be adopted someday. And, unless I'm mistaken, nothing in the vetoed bill would have prevented that.
But now, with Bush's callous veto, what we have are 500,000 frozen embryos that are in permanent limbo, not helping the living, not being adopted, not becoming anything.
Forgotten. Wasted.
They, like the war, are the next President's problem.
And yet another crime against the Constitution. As there is only one rationale for his position and only one real constituency who supports it, Bush has used his power as a government official to establish religion in public policy.
Jon Stewart: "The snowflake babies are so named because no two are alike and they're all white."
Heh.