Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has Failed

Five years after a budget-busting $3 billion was allocated to embryonic stem cell research (ESCR), there have been no cures, no therapies, no progress and no hope.

California's $3 billion research fund was intended to become the west coast counterpart of the National Institutes of Health. As the people said yes, by passing Prop. 71 to fund it, supporters spoke of imminent medical miracles, with President Bush's policy of restricting government funding of embryonic stem cell research the only thing standing in the way of progress.

On March 9, 2009, President Obama reversed that policy, saying he agreed with scientists who believe, "these tiny cells may have the potential to help us understand and possibly cure, some of our most devastating diseases."

By then, there was a growing consensus that embryonic stem cells were not working. But they could not admit it. Note his choice of words. "may" and "possibly" were not words used when the embryonic stem cell research agenda was rolled out, even though there were a number of scientists who knew it could not and would not succeed for scientific reasons.

Investor's Business Daily reported Tuesday, "Five years later, ESCR has failed to deliver and backers of Prop. 71 [the funding measure] are admitting failure."

Investor's Business Daily says the state agency responsible for managing and distributing the money is now funneling funds dedicated to embryonic stem cell research into adult stem cell research, because it is the adult stem cell that has produced results. It is helping real people with real needs and does not come with the ethical problem of destroying life to preserve or treat life.

However there is another---I believe, more important, story behind this story of failure. It involves manipulation of the public and the advancement of a very liberal and so-called "progressive" agenda.

Joe Carter, writing for "Stand To Reason" says, "So they stretched the truth by down playing the fact that the barriers to therapeutic application were all but insurmountable."

Carter, a student of the subject and frequent speaker on these matters, say they have consistently made claims that had no basis in reality.

Carter says, "As Ronald D.G. McKay, a stem cell researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said in 2004 about the claims that ESCR could lead to cures to Alzheimer's,' 'To start with, people need a fairy tale. Maybe that's unfair, but they need a storyline that's relatively simple to understand'."

Celebrities, billionaires, tech tycoons and scientists in need of funding, took the message to the little people.

Seattle's own Ron Reagan wished out loud that if only Bush would have released funds, maybe his father could have been cured or helped. Did Reagan and others know the element of deception in the embryonic stem cell research push? Who knows?

Both Investor's Business Daily and Joe Carter, as well as a number of others, firmly believe that many scientists knew of the extreme limitations of using embryonic stem cells.

Many scientists wanted big money to do embryonic stem cell research, simply for the sake of research, but knew it was impossible to get funding for research that would never be useful out side the lab.

Embryonic stem cell research is a favorite thing among the pro-abortion people. It is seen as "progressive," cutting edge and forward leaning, etc.

Investor's Business Daily concludes: "To us, this is a classic bait and switch, an attempt to snatch success from the jaws of failure and take credit for discoveries and advances achieved by research Prop. 71 supporters once cavalierly dismissed. We have noted how over the years that when funding was needed, the phrase 'embryonic stem cells' was used. When actual progress was discussed, the word 'embryonic' was dropped, because ESCR never got out of the lab."

Stem cell or "adult stem cell" which does not take life to treat life, has provided at least 73 treatments for everything from heart disease to brain cancer, while embryonic stem cell research, which is immoral at it's core, has produced nothing. Except, billions of dollars down the drains of laboratories.

Now take a look at the way health care, climate change, and a number of other big dollar items are being "fairy tale'd" to the American public. Think about it. Pray about it and get involved.

_______________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom

Click here to add these blogs to your email inbox.