COWERING IN THE SHADOW…

/TJ

Seriously, you raise several interesting points. First, I support the use of all lines of stem cells for the purposes of research. I think controls are strict enough that no woman is going to sell her fetus for the sole purpose of having it harvested for its stem cells. I don’t agree it’s a woman’s “right” to do this any more than a woman has a “right” to an abortion. Roe v. Wade clearly establishes a right of privacy between patient and doctor - and by extension an implied constitutional right of privacy for all of us - one of the few “implied” rights I can see the Founders would have covered if they were alive today. But there is no implicit right to abort one’s fetus.

Sorry…but we disagree there.

As for why this activity is going on below the radar I’d have to agree with both your reasons with special emphasis on #2. Carl Sagan (God rest him) was a passionate advocate for scientists taking the time and energy to explain to the public what they were doing. His reasons have to do with the fact that science is now pretty much of a public endeavor. The days when a Rutherford could unlock the mysteries of the atom in a dank basement with a few graduate assistants are gone. To do the kind of science today that allows for breakthroughs in human understanding, scientists need public monies. Even though the U of Nevada study mentioned in the article appears to have been privately funded (or perhaps funded with general grants from the University whose origin could be public like NIH or NAS) I’m sure you know that not much in the way of real science gets done in this country that doesn’t have the hand of government somewhere.

That being said, with few exceptions scientists act like Democrats - they think they’re so effing brilliant that we mere mortal peons couldn’t possibly grasp what they’re trying to do. In fact, Sagan documented cases where scientists actually felt it wasn’t the publics business what the hell they were doing with their money. Needless to say, that kind of attitude must change.

As for Mickey Mouse wailing “Why me” as his little mouse brain develops human characteristics - well, nice image but I agree not likely. Actually, I sort of imagined the researcher walking into the lab one day to find mice standing on two feet leaning against the cage having a conversation about breakfast. Neither one is a likely outcome.

The fact that the Stanford ethics panel felt it necessary to instruct Dr. Weismann to immediately euthanize any mouse that started to “act human” (whatever that means)was something I found extremely interesting. Which brings me to the real point I was trying to make.

Are ethics panels up to the task? Professor Greely of Stanford was a law prof! That may explain the panel’s thought that there was a possibility the mice would start to ask for something besides hamster turds for breakfast. The expertise and knowledge to deal with bio ethical issues was lacking on that panel or at least not in evidence. Is this a problem - even though as we push forward with this kind of research the possibility that some day we’ll be looking at not a human/animal hybrid but a “Superman” whose perfect organs and superior brain have been constructed using this kind of research? The law of unintended consequences is what concerns me - and my belief that without ethics panels examining these consequences, we’ll be faced with a fait accompli some day and Huxley’s world will have hit us with a vengeance.

Clones don’t worry me as it appears that something starts to go horribly wrong just before middle age with cell structure - an interesting and from a scientific point of view fascinating problem. But I think you’re right…other countries are apparently going ahead full bore with a human cloning program. The legal status of such people will be a nightmare. Will someone be able to leave his wealth to their own clone? Or will clones evolve into servants of some kind, doing the scut work that oppressed minorities always seem to do. The issues are mindboggling and we’ll not be ready when the first one appears on Good Morning America.

Finally, when you say “we really DONT know what is going to happen” that scares the beejeesus out of me. Again, it’s the little kid in the basement with a chemistry set….and not enough thought is given to the consequences.