It is now reported that President Obama will sign an executive order on Monday in a White House ceremony, overturning the federal ban on funding of embryonic stem cell research. This will overturn the ban established by President Bush in 2001.
This change in government policy will allow further research into the causes and cure of such diseases as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and Diabetes, as well as allow for the possibility of pathbreaking developments in the field of paralysis. What the actor Michael J. Fox, President Ronald Reagan, and actor Chris Reeve represented, along with millions of other victims of these horrible diseases and conditions, will now finally have the possibility of seeing major progress in future years.
Health care policy should not become enmeshed in religious debate. Individuals have the right to adhere to their religious beliefs, but religion should NOT become a determinant of medical research, particularly with the likelihood of major reforms in finding cures and solutions for so many medical ills.
I was surprised this wasn’t one of the day one executive orders. I always support more research spending as well as science being the determining factor to how those funds are distributed. However, expectations should be tempered that we will see significant practical results from this change in the near term. (Think of the internet being created in the 70’s and it wasn’t until the 90’s that it had a significant effect on society)
I disagree that this shouldn’t be a religious debate. Science is great. Science allows us to manipulate equations, and advance technology. However, it is a mistake to have science as your "trump all" per se. Sciecne is a measure of what we CAN do. Science will NEVER tell you what we should and shouldn’t do. That is where ethics, and in large part, religion, come in.
Science told us that we could create an atom bomb–capable of destryoing any and all that stood in its way. However, it was not sceince that enabled Truman to make the final decision. It was his code of ethics and morality. And everyone knows, that ethics and morality are tied tightly with religion. In other words, taking religion and ethics out of an issue like this is extremely dangerous. And in essence, impossible. To take "religion" out of this issue is to basically allow anything science will enable us to do. I don’t know about you, Dr. Feinman, but I do not necessarily want that.