I didn't need a photo to know that the trusty teleprompter was there. Left, right, left, right, left, right... Video here.
When Barack Obama lifted President Bush's ban on expanding the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos, he spoke of scientific freedom.
"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said. "It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."
That's weird. Obama doesn't want total scientific freedom.
When signing the executive order to treat human life as raw material, Obama put up a wall to "free and open inquiry."
From the New York Times:
In making his announcement, Mr. Obama drew a strict line against human cloning, an issue that over the years has become entangled with the debate over human embryonic stem cell research.
He said that he would ensure that his administration “never opens the door” to cloning for human reproduction, adding, “It is dangerous, profoundly wrong and has no place in our society or any society.”
Get that scientists?
"Free and open inquiry" does not include free and open inquiry into cloning for human reproduction.
That's dangerous and profoundly wrong, according to Obama.
Really?
That's profoundly wrong but destroying human embryos, genetically complete human beings, is not wrong. Bring on the taxpayers' dollars!
Obama is against reproductive cloning, embryos cloned to be brought to full term and born. What about therapeutic cloning, embryos cloned for research? Reading off his teleprompter, Obama made a clear distinction. Reproductive cloning is wrong, not therapeutic cloning.
He considers some cloning of human life to be acceptable while other cloning is "profoundly wrong and has no place in our society or any society."
Obama's principles are murky to the say the least.
So today Obama held a ceremony in the East Room of the White House to mark his war on human life.
Pledging that his administration will “make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology,” President Obama on Monday lifted the Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem cell research.
At a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, before an audience that included lawmakers, scientists and patients, several of them in wheelchairs, Mr. Obama announced that he was issuing an executive order intended to advance the research. He said he hoped Congress would follow with bipartisan legislation that would ease the existing restrictions even more.
Contrast that with the gathering that took place in the same room, the East Room, on May 24, 2005.
In the East Room of the White House, President Bush made remarks on bioethics, specifically addressing stem cell research. He spoke to families that had either "adopted or given up for adoption frozen embryos that remained after fertility treatments."
The President said:
I believe America must pursue the tremendous possibilities of science, and I believe we can do so while still fostering and encouraging respect for human life in all its stages. In the complex debate over embryonic stem cell research, we must remember that real human lives are involved --both the lives of those with diseases that might find cures from this research, and the lives of the embryos that will be destroyed in the process. The children here today are reminders that every human life is a precious gift of matchless value.
...The rapid advance of science presents us with the hope of eventual cures for terrible diseases, and with profound moral and ethical dilemmas. The decisions we make today will have far-reaching consequences. So we must aggressively move forward with medical research, while also maintaining the highest ethical standards.
...Even now researchers are exploring alternative sources of stem cells, such as adult bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, as well as different ethical ways of getting the same kind of cells now taken from embryos without violating human life or dignity. With the right policies and the right techniques, we can pursue scientific progress while still fulfilling our moral duties.
After explaining the need to proceed with research in a manner that does not make ethical compromises, President Bush acknowledged the work of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a group that has "matched over 200 biological parents with about 140 adoptive families, resulting in the birth of 81 children so far, with more on the way."
With the cries and giggles of little ones in the background, President Bush pointed out:
The children here today remind us that there is no such thing as a spare embryo. Every embryo is unique and genetically complete, like every other human being. And each of us started out our life this way. These lives are not raw material to be exploited, but gifts. And I commend each of the families here today for accepting the gift of these children and offering them the gift of your love.
Not all change is good.
2 comments:
President Barack Obama did a lot more than lift the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research Monday. He came to the startling conclusion that scientific research should be based on science.
This will be a change. George W. Bush spent the past eight years making sure scientific research was based on conservative ideology, political manipulation and whim.
Global warming? Buncha baloney. We’ve got millions of years left. Saw a polar bear the other day in a zoo. Looked fine. And if scientists disagree with that, we can always find new scientists.
Using embryonic stem cells to try to cure diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes or to repair spinal cord injuries? Hold your horses on that one. Some religious conservatives don’t like that one.
Some centuries ago, they didn’t like Galileo saying the Earth revolved around the sun, and they got him to recant (and spend the rest of his life under house arrest). That wasn’t good for science, but it was just fine for the Inquisition.
Monday, Obama said, in effect, modern inquisitions were over. He said scientists must be “free from manipulation and coercion.”
See also
* Democrats' new villain: Eric Cantor
* McCain: 'I don't want him to fail'
* Stem cell decision ignites right's ire
And he said he is going to make sure “that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda — and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”
This was more than some could take. House Republican leader John A. Boehner quickly issued a statement saying, “This decision runs counter to President Obama’s promise to be a president for all Americans.”
And, I guess, if you are an American who believes scientists should be manipulated and coerced and have their results distorted by politics and ideology, you are very disappointed today.
Which is not to say all conservatives are disappointed by Obama’s decision. Nancy Reagan quickly endorsed it, saying that “time is short and life is precious.”
And during his presidential campaign, John McCain said, “I’ve prayed a lot about it, but I’ve come down on the side of support for embryonic stem cell research.”
According to Gallup, “A solid majority of Americans (typically 60 percent) agree with using stem cells derived from human embryos for medical research, 61 percent considering such research morally acceptable.”
Which is why some Republicans don’t really want to talk about it that much. Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday: “Let’s take care of business first. People are out of jobs.”
They are. And putting people back to work is Job 1 for the Obama administration. But this president seems determined to prove that government can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Speaking of the need for painstaking and costly research, Obama said, “When government fails to make these investments, opportunities are missed.”
He went on by saying, “In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values. In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent.”
So science will go forward. But wait. There is a potential problem with this. Scientists can become mad. We know this from watching many, many movies. You give mad scientists money and leave them alone in a laboratory, and you know what they will do?
Eric Cantor does. He says Obama’s decision on stem cell research could lead to “human cloning.”
Which Cantor is against. Though I don’t know why. Human cloning might be the best way Republicans have to create more Republicans.
Obama really lives his Strawmen, doesn't he?
Obama has prayed to be an instrument of God's Will. How about that!
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