Fade In.
The Scene: A Senate Committee Room at the US Capitol.
As bulbs flash two movie stars enter the gilded hearing room. The Senators politely applaud as the stars take their place behind the witness table.
“Mr. Chairman,” one of them begins, “members of the committee, I am here to speak on behalf of the millions of Americans suffering from Carpal Tunnel syndrome. I am here to announce that there is now hope for all of us. Some startling new research leads us to believe that we can cure this scourge once and for all.”
At that point the other one chimes in. “The Carpal Tunnel research community has successfully identified the gene that could forever eradicate this terrible disease. Think of all the writers, computer programmers and accountants that will now be able to write, program, and account free of this terrible blight! But it will take your help and precious research dollars to get there. Presently the government does not allow human research, but it must. Now I know some will be concerned about the “research subjects,” but …
Fade out.
This past week a scene like this was played out on Capitol Hill, complete with the same stultifying ethical arguments and selfish motives.
Testifying before the health and human services panel of the Senate Appropriations Committee, television legend Mary Tyler Moore and Spin City star Michael J. Fox urged Congress to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Though the Clinton administration just relaxed federal guidelines a few weeks ago, researchers want still more freedom. Under the new NIH guidelines, researchers may use stem cells in their work (which are usually fatally procured from live human embryos) so long as they receive the stem cells from a third party. In other words, you can encourage others to kill human beings for your research, but you are not allowed to do it yourself. Mr. Fox and Ms. Tyler Moore believe the government should fund the killing as well.
“The consistent and inescapable conclusion is that this research offers the potential to eliminate diseases literally saving millions of lives,” Mr. Fox enthused to the committee. “It’s time to act on what we’ve learned. Further delay would come at a high price.”
Obviously Mr. Fox has bought the overheated rhetoric of the research community which promises to eradicate everything from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s. The catch is, they can’t deliver unless they get federal approval to tamper with human life.
In truth, this is all speculation. These are hopes, not proven medical facts. New research even indicates that stem cells taken from adults may have the same properties as stem cells taken from embryos. The only difference is embryos die when you remove their stem cells; adults do not. And if this type of research held such promise, then why haven’t we seen cures coming out of the private sector? They have been engaged in this Frankenstein-like research for years.
Of course none of this matters to Ms. Tyler Moore. Like the actor in my little fiction above, she believes these infinitesimal human lives are worth little. “The embryos that are being discussed, according to science, bear as much resemblance to a human being as a goldfish,” Tyler Moore told the committee.
Mary Tyler Moore’s presence at this proceeding was disturbing. It was simply ugly. Her twisted reasoning reveals a complete submission to the culture of death. It is sad that anyone, most of all people in Congress, are still willing to listen to her.
Since when is a person’s present state the barometer of personhood? There are people who cannot speak, people who are deformed, people who cannot walk, people who cannot move — yet they all live. They are all entitled by God to the right to live. No one, no Congress, no society, not even the girl who turned the world on with her smile can abrogate that pre-eminent right.
Tom Harkin, the Democratic Senator from Iowa, attempted to downplay the humanity of the embryos by claiming that “the embryos (in question) are no bigger than the period at the end of a sentence.” So what? Mr. Harkin should remember that at one time he too was no bigger than a period at the end of a sentence. Did that fact diminish his right to life? Are we more disposable at one stage of life than at another? God forbid if some legislator in the last century had used the same ethical slide rule to determine his fate, Tom Harkin might have wound up under glass in some laboratory. A typical American teenager might declare that 90% of the men on the Appropriations Committee were “old as dirt.” Does that mean we should use them for research?
No, this debate should not be taking place, not in America. This is a debate not about research or dollars, but about the worth of human life. How sad it is when Mr. Fox, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, and Ms. Tyler Moore, afflicted with Diabetes, elect to attack the unborn in seeking a cure to their diseases rather than supporting decent medical science. Their conditions do not give them the right to demand human sacrifice. And that is what this debate over embryonic research comes down to: my life — indeed, my health — is more valuable than your life.
The vote to decide whether the government will fund embryo research could come any day now. Congressional watchers tell me it has a good chance of passing.
I guess the lives of the famous are worth more than the lives of the silent. Until embryos figure out how to start producing their own TV shows, I suppose no one will much care to hear about their plight.
If you have questions or comments you may email Mr. Arroyo at rarroyo@e3mil.com.
