Oxford don attacks Bush...
An Oxford don has condemned the American government for its opposition to stem cell research. Professor Richard Gardner, of Oxford’s Zoology Department, commented at the Royal Society this month that Mr Bush should listen to scientists rather than religious opinion regarding stem-cell research. Gardner told The Oxford Student, “There is general concern how the religious views of one man in the States can dominate the situation.
He added, “Given that there is no evidence that Bush disapproves of the use of IVF for fertility, unused embryos, which are usually destroyed after 5 years, should be used for more positive purposes.
President Bush has recently reconfirmed his position on stem-cell research, originally made in August 2001, that he would effectively block state funding of new research areas, allowing federal funds to only be “used for research on [the sixty] existing stem cell lines, where the life and death decision has already been made”.
In response to Bush’s threat to veto a bill allowing the use of surplus IVF embryos with consent, a crossparty American delegation has appealed for Bush to allow US embryonic stem cell research to progress, warning that medical progress has been suffering worldwide as a result of US limitations imposed upon scientists. The ethical implications of using human embryos for stem-cell research have provoked much religious and pro-life criticism.
A spokesperson from The ProLife Alliance said, “I don’t see how we can justify the willful destruction of one human life in an attempt to save another”.
However, Julian Savulescu, Oxford’s Uehiro Professor of Applied Ethics argues that there has been open discrimination against science, as scientists are “held to higher moral expectations than other social practices”, and that with over 100,000 abortions every year in the UK, society has made up its mind regarding the moral status of the embryo.
In response to Bush’s religious standing, Professor Savulescu commented: “I don’t object to people dying for their religious beliefs, but I do mind people dying for the religious beliefs of others”. He argued that those obstructing further research are “morally responsible” for the deaths of those that could potentially be saved over the next few decades.
Although the outcome of scientific research can never be certain, human embryonic stem cells have provided much realistic hope for future medical advances, as they can potentially form every kind of cell in the body.
Both Professor Gardner and Professor Savulescu are keen to emphasise the ethical boundaries that have already been crossed regarding abortion and the use of certain contraceptives, and even pro-life Congressmen have argued in favour of expanded stem cell research, implying that Bush has got a big issue on his hands, and the pressure is liable to only increase.
8th Jun 2006