Ethicist Wesley Smith notes that the coverage of the Korean clone scandal doesn't bother to mention the ethics behind the procdure...
It is amazing how similar every story I have read on the Hwang fraud follows the same template, including this AP report. Ditto this New York Times story that ran on the front page below the fold.
1) Report the facts that Hwang is a fraud, but don't accurately describe the process of cloning;
2) Have scientists assure that the field will go forward, perhaps with even more vigor.
3) Describe the dashed hopes of people with degenerative conditions, but do not breathe a word about the adult stem cell research that offers at least as much, if not more, hope to these people--and sooner.....
Reuter's summary HERE
Korean Summary HERE
gives more details...
In an earlier post, he notes:
The Hwang fraud illustrates the problems with human cloning in a nutshell: The hype, the wild promises, the exploitation of women for their eggs, the eclipsing of more promising research involving adult or umbilical cord stem cells, the lack of skepticism by the mainstream media, the politicization of science--it is all there.
------------
Cameron makes a similar point HERE
-------------------------------
Update: the libertarian site TCSDaily has a similar take on the stem cell hype...note the date was BEFORE it found all the data was faked...LINK
Referring to the stamp (above) he notes:
The stamp has two panels. On the left a cell is being manipulated and on the right a paralysed man is bounding out of his wheelchair, kicking up his heels and embracing his girlfriend. With a tantalising vision like this on their stamps, it is no wonder that Hwang is so warmly supported by ordinary Koreans.
Miracles like this are just short of sheer fantasy. Embryonic stem cells have not cured a single patient and they may never do so -- although they could be useful raw material for genetic research and drug testing. This week a British scientist announced the commencement of clinical trials on wheelchair-bound patients with spinal cord injuries. But he is using adult stem cells. These "will avoid the need to use embryonic tissue, to find donor individuals … or to use powerful designer drugs with unknown side-effects,"
The sad thing is that below all this hype (mainly used to bash pro life people who say: Wait, why are you killing your offspring) the dirty little secret is that ADULT stem cells, often from one's own body, have been used successfully...
LINK to a prolife site that gives 45 examples of adult stem cell experiments...
And using adult stem cells in heart patients is already far along...as Don Ho can testify...
Indeed, I'm waiting for Dick Cheney to get a stem cell implant...no one in the press is noticing his end stage heart disease with poor ejection fraction is getting worse...anyone? Anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment