Name one human life that has been saved with embryonic stem cells. One. Name a single cure that has been developed using embryonic stem cells. In fact, none have despite loads of attempts.
Here's a few things that Ann Coulter has to say about it in her latest book:
Although therehas been researcho n both adult stem cells an embryonic stem cells since the fities, only adult stem-cell research has produced any cures - and lots of 'em. Adult stem cells ahve been used for decades to treat dozens of diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, liver disease, and spinal cord injuries. Currently, adult stem cells are used to treat more than eighty different diseases.[She goes on to list a number of successful cures and treatments using adult stem cells.]
By conrast, the embryonic stem-cell researchers have produced nothing. They have treated nothing. They have not even begun one human clinical trial. They've successfully treatd a few rodents, but they keep running into two probles: First, the cells tend to be rejected by the immune system. Second, they tend to cause malignancies called teratomas - meaning "monster tumors."
The idea that embryonic stem cells are on the verge of curing anything is absurd. It's possible embryonic stem-cell research could find a cure fo Alzheimer's disease someday only in the sense that it is possible that biologist's toenail clippings could be used to find a cure for Alzheimer's someday. Liberals aren't demanding that taxpayer money be used for research on toenail clippings: that would not advance their governing principle, which is to always kill human life (unless the human life being killed is likely to fly a plan into American skyscrapers, in which case, it is wrong to kill it).
The only advantage embryonic stem cells once had over adult stem cells was their ability to transform into any type of cell. But fast-advancing research on adult stem cells has stripped away even that theoretical advantage. As of 2002, adult stem cells were being converted in to all thre types of cells the body produces during early embryonic development. And adult stem cells were already curing people!
[Snip]
...the Times ran a front-page story describing the results of those experiments on Parkinson's patients: Not only was there no positive effect from injecting fetal brain tissue into the recipients, but about 15 percent of the patients had nightmarish side effects. The unfortunate patients "writhe and twist, jerk their heads, fling their arms about." In the words of one scientist, "They chew constantly, their fingers go up and down, their wrists flex and distend." And the worst thing was, the scientists couldn't turn it off.
Coulter is a liar, since the embryonic stem cell wasn't even isolated until 1998. Since the premise of her argument is a lie, there is no point in shredding the rest of her diatribe.
I'm not arguing for embryonic stem cell research. I tend to agree that adult stem cells are the way to go, but Ann Coulter?????? Sorry, I've seen her get her facts tied up in knots too many times to take much of what she says seriously. Besides, she'd say anything for a buck.