A rational discussion of stem cell research
Posted by Jesse Reynolds December 6, 2006
Biopolitical Times
Check out the recent op ed in the San Jose Mercury News by my colleague and co-blogger Parita Shah, "With election over, we can discuss stem-cell research logically." She writes:
Unfortunately, the campaign treatment of stem-cell research also demonstrated that such a complex issue gets simplified and distorted beyond recognition when it is discussed in a forum of polarized politics and 30-second sound bites. Voters were bombarded with political ads and stump speeches full of hyperbole about the science, uttered by candidates desperate to win votes.
In large part, this was due to candidates who were subscribing to a framework set by abortion politics -- a framework that has polarized the politics of stem-cell research. During the heated debate, one side grossly over-promised cures from the still speculative research, while the other side predictably understated its potential. One side used creative word craft to underplay the risks of cloning techniques in stem-cell research; the other side equated research cloning with reproductive cloning.