by Isabelle Kearns
The embryonic stem cell research controversy has become such a media hullabaloo that it is difficult to separate the facts from that fiction. There is little question that adult stem cell research is an important avenue for future investigation into cures for conditions such as dementia, but how important it is is still open to debate. You see, no matter how you feel about embryonic stem cell research, you probably feel it passionately.
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Some of the fanatics wants to ban stem cell research entirely. People like this are generally very involved in the antiabortion campaign. They find embryonic stem cell research, or anything that uses cells from unborn fetuses to be deeply unethical. Despite the fact that many of these unborn fetuses do not have working brains or the ability to survive outside the body, they tend to place they still value them above all else. These people would put the life of a fetus above the life of fully developed human beings!
The pro stem cell research embryonic crowd can be almost as bad. Embryonic stem cell research, you see, has not yet been proven in the laboratory, but already there is a huge outpouring of support for it. Rather than being properly tried in a scientific setting, it has been tried in the court of public opinion. People who are for embryonic stem cell research falsely assume that it will be the cure for cancer cells, Alzheimer's disease, and any and number of other terrible, debilitating, and fatal conditions. Their reaction is every bit as knee-jerk as the ban embryonic stem cell research crowd.
To give you an idea of the type and controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research, think of it this way. In a recent election in California, a bill to require medium-sized businesses to provide health care to their employees was defeated, although it would not have cost the state very much money. Meanwhile, a huge bill to fund embryonic stem cell research was passed, despite the fact that California would gain little from it directly and would pay a heavy toll. There were so many true believers in embryo stem cell research that they were willing to tax an already overstrained budget to fund corporate research of embryonic stem cells that had little government oversight. That is one of the problems with extremely polarized, contentious debate topics. People have a hard time forming a moderate opinion about the issues, whether they are talking about funding embryonic stem cell research, legalizing drugs, or strengthening gun control laws.
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