Fisking Kerry from Debate. Question 7

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Question #7

LONG: Senator Kerry, thousands of people have already been cured or treated by the use of adult stem cells or umbilical cord stem cells. However, no one has been cured by using embryonic stem cells. Wouldn't it be wise to use stem cells obtained without the destruction of an embryo?

KERRY: You know, Elizabeth, I really respect your -- the feeling that's in your question. I understand it. I know the morality that's prompting that question, and I respect it enormously.

"I know the morality...." Is that English? Morality is "concern for the distinction between right and wrong". What is "the morality"? Ok, that's cheap, I'll take it as a Bushism from John Kerry. I do know what you mean.

But like Nancy Reagan, and so many other people -- you know, I was at a forum with Michael J. Fox the other day in New Hampshire, who's suffering from Parkinson's, and he wants us to do stem cell, embryonic stem cell.

Now I know this in a live debate, but what did Nancy Reagan have to do with this statement. So, what you are saying is Mr. Fox is an eminent ethicist?

And this fellow stood up, and he was quivering. His whole body was shaking from the nerve disease, the muscular disease that he had. And he said to me and to the whole hall, he said, "You know, don't take away my hope, because my hope is what keeps me going."

Since faith won't sustain him, perhaps he needs to read Sartre, and delve into existentialism.

Chris Reeve is a friend of mine. Chris Reeve exercises every single day to keep those muscles alive for the day when he believes he can walk again, and I want him to walk again.

So Mr. Reeve, if he feels embryonic stem cells are the only answer can call up his rich buddies, start a program and do the bloody research on their own. What you seem to be missing here is that the stem cell act has made federal funding on stem cells restricted. NOT privately funded research. Clue in, stem cell research by your own freaking admission is morally disputed. SO we decided not to use tax dollars for it. Get it, got it, good.

I think we can save lives. Now, I think we can do ethically guided embryonic stem-cell research. We have 100,000 to 200,000 embryos that are frozen in nitrogen today from fertility clinics. These weren't taken from abortion or something like that. They're from a fertility clinic.

No Kerry, they are not from a fertility clinic. They're at a fertility clinic. They're from a woman.

And they're either going to be destroyed or left frozen. And I believe if we have the option, which scientists tell us we do, of curing Parkinson's, curing diabetes, curing, you know, some kind of a, you know, paraplegic or quadriplegic or, you know, a spinal cord injury, anything, that's the nature of the human spirit. I think it is respecting life to reach for that cure. I think it is respecting life to do it in an ethical way.

And why pray tell, haven't they destroyed them. Duh. There are ethical questions involved. That's the whole point you seem to be missing. (and to be cute, "I think it is respecting life to do it in an ethical way". That's one of the reasons I got married to Mrs. Pseudo-Polymath.)

And the president has chosen a policy that makes it impossible for our scientists to do that.

No, it isn't "impossible", it's not federally funded!!!!

I want the future, and I think we have to grab it.