Wesley J. Smith: Stem cell debate is over ethics, not science

Smith, Wesley J. "Stem cell debate is over ethics, not science." The Sacramento Bee [Sacramento] 19 Mar. 2009: 19A. 19 Mar. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. <http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1711235.html?pageNum=1&&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container>.

For my next article, I decided to take a less information-based approach. I wanted to find an opinion article that probes the controversy surrounding stem cell policy and the ethics of embryonic stem cell research in the United States. I sought an article that would have a format that allowed for the public to respond to the article and provide their personal opinions.

Luckily, I was able to find such an article. Wesley J. Smith, a special consultant for the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a senior fellow in human rights and bioethics at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, published the opinion article posted above in the Sacramento Bee soon after President Obama lifted Bush's policy on stem cell research last March. This article gives the reader insight into stem cell research in Seattle as well as the political climate surrounding stem cell research in California.

Smith's article had a some informative points on both Bush's and Obama's stem cell policies. I especially enjoyed when Smith made it a point to say that, "...the question raised by embryonic stem cell research is whether it is morally right to treat and exploit human life – even at the nascent stage – as a mere natural resource." This is a bold, clear and ethically valid statement for such significantly important research, research that could have improve the lives millions, save thousands of lives, billions of dollars on medical expenses, research in other biotechnology, etc.; the list goes on. But the question is, when exactly does human life start? And based on your own personal beliefs as to when that time is, do you think we should invest our money into a science concerned with such sensitive issues that have the potential to change our world forever (for better or worse)?


Please view my last post about the comparisons between other countries' trailblazing stem cell research, and specifically, read my response to Israel's stem cell campaign and how it relates to religion. As much as the questions purposed above are purely moral and ethical ones, how those questions relate specifically to policy in the USA is really a matter mostly concerning Christianity. This presence of religion in politics exists today in our country and is a contributing factor in why America, in particular, is lagging behind in taking a clear position on stem cell research as a whole and what kind of regulations to establish.



-Margeaux Berroth
Brown University Class of 2011
Human Biology Concentrator