Religions > Atheism > Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Godfrey" |
| Date: |
25 Sep 2004 12:40:58 AM |
| Object: |
Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
Federal dollars or no, it looks like California will be going ahead
with research on stem cells, even if the state has to pay for the
research itself:
http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0910/stemcell.htm
It's a 3 billion dollar bond measure, and ipolling indicates it will
probably pass. To put that in perspective, the federal government
dedicated 180 million dollars to stem cell research in 2002. This
seems to represent a huge amount of funding.
Any other states doing this?
While I am not thrilled with abortion from a moral standpoint, I don't
think the government has any right to interfere- I view it as a
personal choice.
I'm also very hopeful about the promise presented by stem cell
research.
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
Godfrey
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| User: "Fester" |
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| Title: Re: Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
25 Sep 2004 06:12:46 PM |
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"Godfrey" <No@Email.Provided> wrote in message
news:lb0al05bapp7qruq8oq6j15jtk2bcop9g3@4ax.com...
Federal dollars or no, it looks like California will be going ahead
with research on stem cells, even if the state has to pay for the
research itself:
http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0910/stemcell.htm
It's a 3 billion dollar bond measure, and ipolling indicates it will
probably pass. To put that in perspective, the federal government
dedicated 180 million dollars to stem cell research in 2002. This
seems to represent a huge amount of funding.
Any other states doing this?
While I am not thrilled with abortion from a moral standpoint, I don't
think the government has any right to interfere- I view it as a
personal choice.
I'm also very hopeful about the promise presented by stem cell
research.
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
Godfrey
I think that it's a great initiative. I sure hope it passes. I'm not a fan
of government spending on a vast array of social programs. Here is a case
of government doing what it should be doing. That is, backing pure research
which is beyond the means or practicality of private industry to do on its
own. In addition to the economic potential of new breakthroughs are the
advancement of our understanding of biology and the potential for vast
improvements in medicine/quality of our lives. As for the abortion issue, I
share your opinon, but I also find that SCR has absolutely nothing to do
with a woman's decision to bring a zygote/fetus to term.
--
"Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and
he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion"
Edmund Burke
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| User: "Godfrey" |
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| Title: Re: Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
26 Sep 2004 12:52:21 AM |
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On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 23:12:46 GMT, "Fester" <not@home.com> wrote:
"Godfrey" <No@Email.Provided> wrote in message
news:lb0al05bapp7qruq8oq6j15jtk2bcop9g3@4ax.com...
Federal dollars or no, it looks like California will be going ahead
with research on stem cells, even if the state has to pay for the
research itself:
http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0910/stemcell.htm
It's a 3 billion dollar bond measure, and ipolling indicates it will
probably pass. To put that in perspective, the federal government
dedicated 180 million dollars to stem cell research in 2002. This
seems to represent a huge amount of funding.
Any other states doing this?
While I am not thrilled with abortion from a moral standpoint, I don't
think the government has any right to interfere- I view it as a
personal choice.
I'm also very hopeful about the promise presented by stem cell
research.
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
Godfrey
I think that it's a great initiative. I sure hope it passes. I'm not a fan
of government spending on a vast array of social programs. Here is a case
of government doing what it should be doing. That is, backing pure research
which is beyond the means or practicality of private industry to do on its
own.
I feel the same way about government spending. I rationalize this
measure thus:
This is a bond measure, to be paid by us and by our children over the
next 30 years (if memory serves). Yet since this is research with
great promise but no immediate benefit, any potential beneficiaries of
the research will also live in the future. Therefore this is the one
bond measure I can support without reservation because both the
beneficiaries and the poor saps who have to pay for those benefits
live in the future...
In addition to the economic potential of new breakthroughs are the
advancement of our understanding of biology and the potential for vast
improvements in medicine/quality of our lives. As for the abortion issue, I
share your opinon, but I also find that SCR has absolutely nothing to do
with a woman's decision to bring a zygote/fetus to term.
It's true. The woman's not aborting a fetus for the purpose of
furthering research, she's doing it for her own reasons. My
connection between the morality of abortion and the morality of using
the result of that abortion for science may be tenuous, but it still
nags a bit. Sanctity of life and all that. But then there's also the
life of the kid with leukemia or the grandfather with Alzheimer's...
Godfrey
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
25 Sep 2004 02:40:54 AM |
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In article <lb0al05bapp7qruq8oq6j15jtk2bcop9g3@4ax.com>,
Godfrey <No@Email.Provided> wrote:
Federal dollars or no, it looks like California will be going ahead
with research on stem cells, even if the state has to pay for the
research itself:
http://www.the-tidings.com/2004/0910/stemcell.htm
It's a 3 billion dollar bond measure, and ipolling indicates it will
probably pass. To put that in perspective, the federal government
dedicated 180 million dollars to stem cell research in 2002. This
seems to represent a huge amount of funding.
Any other states doing this?
While I am not thrilled with abortion from a moral standpoint, I don't
think the government has any right to interfere- I view it as a
personal choice.
I'm also very hopeful about the promise presented by stem cell
research.
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
Godfrey
I signed the petition to put it on the ballot and I will vote for it.
I have no problem with ESC research.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
-The ability to change one's mind, ideas, and opinions when confronted with
new facts is the sign of the rational and intelligent. The inability to do
so is the hallmark of the dimwitted and the fanatic. This applies not only
to science and philosophy, but also to politics.-
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| User: "raven1" |
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| Title: Re: Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
25 Sep 2004 03:09:43 AM |
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On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 05:40:58 GMT, Godfrey <No@Email.Provided> wrote:
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
"Moral" or "immoral" normally only have meaning within the context of
some kind of religious system of morality. A more accurate question
would be "ethical or unethical", and I'd not just come down strongly
on the side of the former, but one of my major quarrels with the
current Administration is their obstructionist policy as regards such
research; in trying to straddle the middle ground, Bush managed to
please absolutely no one, from his fundie base, to actual scientists.
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| User: "Godfrey" |
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| Title: Re: Calilfornia's Prop 71 will fund embryonic stem cell research |
26 Sep 2004 12:43:03 AM |
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On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 08:09:43 GMT, raven1 <quoththeraven@nevermore.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 05:40:58 GMT, Godfrey <No@Email.Provided> wrote:
What do all you atheist-types think about embryonic stem cell research
anyway? Moral or immoral?
"Moral" or "immoral" normally only have meaning within the context of
some kind of religious system of morality.
I find that more a matter of connotation- to me "moral" does have a
certain esoteric quality that deals with character while "ethical" is
more of a professional term.
A more accurate question
would be "ethical or unethical", and I'd not just come down strongly
on the side of the former, but one of my major quarrels with the
current Administration is their obstructionist policy as regards such
research; in trying to straddle the middle ground, Bush managed to
please absolutely no one, from his fundie base, to actual scientists.
Yeah, I'm strongly inclined to support therapeutic cloning but I find
it conflicts with my feelings on abortion, since the embryonic stem
cells come from something that once had the potential to become a
child. But abortion is another issue and I shan't digress...
I think the promise of stem cell research is spectacular and I will
be voting for the measure. I just wondered how other atheists viewed
the matter: through a moral prism or through a more logical approach.
Godfrey
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