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May 25, 2005 More than 1,600 Soldiers have died in Iraq. President Bush has decided that sacrificing the lives of these Soldiers is a worthy investment in the future of Iraqis. Having served in Iraq and seen the progress towards democracy and the incredible amount of weapons denied terrorists there, I would hesitantly agree. The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would approve federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Scientists believe this research is the greatest hope for victims of a myriad of injuries and diseases. However, President Bush has promised to veto any legislation that authorizes federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. His argument is that the human embryo is sacrificed in the stem cell harvesting process and that is just too great a price for medical advancement. Embryonic stem cells are harvested from embryos left over from the in-vitro fertilization process. What happens to them if they are not used for stem cell research? They are discarded. But the radical, religious right has applied so much pressure that the president has succumbed to this lapse in logic that embryos are "sacrificed." On the one hand Bush is sacrificing the lives of brave American men and women for the future benefit of Iraqi citizens. On the other, he refuses to sacrifice embryos, embryos which will be otherwise discarded, to save the lives of American citizens. It is pig-headed and backwards. Bush should take a cue from the coalition of moderate Senators who avoided a Senate meltdown and, for once in his life, ignore the banter of the religious extremists and do the right thing. America is not yet a theocracy and the President has an obligation to do what is right for this democracy, even more so than for the fledgling democracy in Iraq. Pass this legislation. Cancer is a weapon of mass destruction. The President has the opportunity to help stop this genuine terror. For the President to stand by and allow life saving research to go un-funded would be the ultimate hypocrisy. Are the lives of 1,600 American Soldiers, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters less valuable than embryos that will be discarded anyway? Is the interest of the Iraqi people more important to the President than the health and well-being of his own citizens? It appears that in Bush’s mind, this is so. ------------ About the author: Wayne Adkins is a former fundamentalist christian who became an atheist after two years of bible college. He is now a military officer recently returned from a year in Iraq...a real live atheist in a foxhole. He has written a manuscript debunking biblical inerrancy and the existence of God which can be found at his website at www.nakedemperor.netfirms.com. Email: tillnow67@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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