President Bush's Stem Cell Policy Vindicated

by Charles Krauthammer - December 1st, 2007 - Charlotte Observer

"If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough."
- - James A. Thomson

A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells.

Even a scientist who cares not a whit about the morality of embryo destruction will adopt this technique because it is so simple and powerful. The embryonic stem cell debate is over.

Though it is good for our society to end this contentious debate, it is somewhat unfair that the people who have denounced with lies all who were uncomfortable with the concept of making babies for scientific research, now get to pretend that what they did was not evil. The debate will go away and their insults and assaults will fade in to history and they will not be held accountable. Maybe that is a good thing for scientific research, but it is not a good thing for the cause of decency in the world. People who practice such duplicitous attacks should not get off scot free.