What did it actually solve…?
I know this news that’s about a week old, which in this day and age is just about ancient history, but I have yet to really see much that was resolved by the recent break-through in stem cell research. This NRO article sees this as a vindication of pursuing “ethical science,” and the title of this NY Times article seems to indicate that they think the “stem cell war” is reaching its conclusion. But I’m not convinced.
Oh, of course, the particular issue seems to be resolved–I doubt there will be many people out there campaigning or picketing in order to continue embryonic stem cell research. Nevertheless, the real issues that made the question of embryonic stem cell research a heated debate are not resolved.
Let’s face it folks–it’s been nine years since this debate got kicked off. That’s nine years in which stem cell research was hampered in some way, shape, or form. Sure, the editors at NRO can say that this break through shows why we can stick to our moral guns while still practicing science, but what about all the research that could have already been accomplished? What about those people who were unable to reap the potential benefits because the pro-lifers got a burr up our butts about a couple-day-old embryos? Don’t get me wrong–I think the ban on embryonic stem cell research was the right call to make, but simply because we can do stem cell research without having to destroy embryos right now does not automatically mean that the ban was therefore the right ethical or moral decision back then. There are legit ethical questions that cut both ways, and in order to have any real resolution to these issues, we’ve gotta address more fundamental questions, such as Which set ethics are right? and Why are the others wrong?
Just for the record, I don’t think you can ultimately do this without talking about who God is, and what he has revealed to us about himself. I’m not saying that to try and make this merely a religious issue–it’s just to say that if we want to find any answers that are worth their salt, I don’t think we can ignore the religious, theological, or philosophical issues involved.
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