Thursday, May 14, 2009

Would you use a medicine developed through stem cell research?

The "killer question" (in any debate) is the question that is deemed so powerful that it is irrefutable and ends the debate. In the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, I sometimes hear someone from the Left trotting out their "killer question". So the question goes, "If there was a medicine developed through stem cell research, would you deny it to your sick child?" And if you say "no, I wouldn't deny my child" they can try to pretend that you are a supporter of their position or a hypocrite. And if you say "yes, I would deny my child" you are some sort of insane child abuser.

Unfortunately most people think of answering this question in terms of yes and no, when in fact it is a question that makes no real sense. It is as if I asked you if you would use the autobahn in Germany and then declare you to be a supporter of Hitler. The autobahn is there and I would use it. But given a choice of a world with autobahns and with Hitler, or a world without the autobahns and without Hitler, I would choose without.

2 Comments:

Blogger Rileysowner said...

I am not sure on this, but I believe with stem cell treatments there needs to be a continuous new supply of stem cells. Thus for taking any treatment using embryonic stem cells, it would require getting more all the time. Again, I am not sure on this, and have not researched it, but I think that is how it works. If not I am quite willing to be corrected.

9:12 a.m.  
Blogger JMJ said...

or...if the nazis had learned anything from their human experiments in the concentration camps.

10:58 a.m.  

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