The lie perpetrated by the liberal-left and their media regarding stem cell research is being perpetrated in new Obamerific ways today.
They’re all reporting on this new study which, after a year of consideration, the Food and Drug Administration OK’d today, for a scientific study using EMBRYONIC stem cells on humans.
But they’re making out like it’s some sort of an Obama election-induced advance for science. That’s an outright lie. And worse, they know it.
Liberals and their media have long pretended—lied—that the Bush administration “banned stem cell research” —you know, because they’re all a bunch of Christian conservative nutbars (or something much like that exactly like that in every which way). Again, let me state it as simply and accurately as humanly possible, lest you think I’m using hyperbole: It’s a complete lie being perpetrated by the liberal-left and their media.
The Bush Administration banned federal taxpayer funding (only) for EMBRYONIC (only embryonic) stem cell research, on ethics grounds (it requires the harvesting of stem cells from human baby embryos… hello!). ADULT stem cell research—the only research which has ever led to any medical cures or treatments, and there have been lots —is and always has been funded and of course legal in every way, and in America for the past several years, huge advances using ADULT stem cell research has been made. There are few if any ethical issues surrounding ADULT stem cell research.
Bush also made available a set number of human embryos, from which the stem cell lines harvested could be used for EMBRYONIC stem cell research, and which would be eligible for federal funding; and the private sector could continue, as they always could, to fund research using those lines (the fact that private money was so scarce speaks to the ethical problems associated with it, and the paucity of promise in EMBRYONIC research). And research went on.
No stem cell research was ever “banned” by the Bush administration.
And here’s the kicker: The EMBRYONIC stem cell lines being used in the announced study today are those lines authorized by George Bush, although the study used no federal funding. Yes the project being discussed today involves stem cells that were made available and for which federal funding was available under former president George W. Bush. This is a study which applied for the FDA’s authorization a year ago—not on Obama’s inauguration day. And this study is being funded by PRIVATE research money. This story has utterly nothing whatever to do with Obama.
Therefore here’s how the dreadfully dishonest CBC covers the story today: Over the banner “HUMAN STEM CELL TRIAL”, the CBC news anchor introduces the subject like this:
CBC News anchor Andrew Nichols: “Barack Obama’s inauguration was an exciting milestone for scientists in stem cell research. Last year Obama pledged to lift some key restrictions. And today, a U.S. biotech company received approval to test a therapy using human embryonic stem cells in people!”
PURE DECEPTION. Obama had utterly nothing to do with any of this story, at all whatsoever, except purely coincidentally. As I said, this study involves all private money although it might have qualified for federal funding under the current regulations; and it’s using the Bush-authorized embryonic line! This is a transparent effort to influence the thinking of Canadians, as I see it.
Properly goaded, the CBC guest expert then interviewed by Andrew Nichols seems to go along with what I see as the Nichols-led deception, and answered as though this were in fact a story about Obama and Bush and their respective positions on stem cell research generally. Which it wasn’t.
CBC’s Andrew Nichols then asked:
CBC News anchor Andrew Nichols: “Now it took over a year for this study to get approval. How challenging was it for scientists to move forward on stem cell research under the previous administration?”
Again, this is utterly deceptive. This story was not affected by “the previous administration” as compared to the election of Obama. In fact this story hinged on Bush’s approval of the very stem cell line being used by the principles in this news story.
CBC’s Andrew Nichols then asked:
CBC News anchor Andrew Nichols: “So President Obama has pledged to loosen restrictions on stem cell research—what will that shift mean for scientists?”
More deception and obfuscation and more of the effort to influence Canadians. First, he purposely neglected to separate the issue into EMBRYONIC stem cell research and stem cell research generally. And secondly, this has NOTHING to do with the current news story. Nichols again appears to be obsessed with influencing Canadians by invoking the name Obama in a positive light and in direct connection with this story, while invoking Bush in a negative light in explaining today’s story. And in a false light. The current story has nothing to do with Obama, nor even any Bush “restrictions on stem cell research” generally, but it was being falsely alluded to as such, by the CBC anchor Andrew Nichols.
Obama has said he will lift the ban on EMBRYONIC stem cell research at some point, but he has not done that yet.
As usual, the liberal media refuses to inform folks properly, seeking instead to deceive people by refusing to separate the issue into the extremely important matters of EMBRYONIC stem cell research, and ADULT stem cell research. And they further exacerbate the confusion for what I think are political reasons, by insinuating that today’s announcement is some new “change” and “hope” matter (wink!) directly related to Obama’s election and his “bringing science back to its rightful place” nonsense.
Thus the specious mischievous misinformation continues to be advanced by liberals and their media.
UPDATE – Saturday Jan 24:
See this hideous Globe and Mail article:
Scientists across America are celebrating the passing of the Bush administration as the end of a dark age, a bleak stretch in which research budgets shrank and everything — stem cells, sex education, climate change, and the very origins of the Grand Canyon — became a point of conflict.
President Barack Obama has ignited a new optimism among the white coats. In his inaugural speech, he promised to “restore science to its rightful place,” hinting at nothing short of a renaissance in the fields of health, energy, the environment and America’s schools.
As a testament to that, the United States Friday became the first country in the world to approve a clinical trial of embryonic stem cells in human patients.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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