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The Unconscionable Claims of Michael J. Fox
The American Thinker ^ | October 25th, 2006 | Mary L. Davenport, MD

Posted on 10/25/2006 7:05:56 AM PDT by veronica

The popular and appealing actor Michael J. Fox has taken to the airwaves in Senate battleground states Missouri, Maryland, and New Jersey with a highly misleading ad urging defeat of Republican Senatorial candidates opposing the use of taxpayer dollars to fund new embryonic stem cell line research. He states,

“Stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s…. But George Bush and Michael Steele would put limits on the most promising stem cell research.”

Mr. Fox and his ads’ sponsors are guilty of conflating embryonic stem cell research, which the GOP candidates and many Americans oppose for destroying a human life in the name of curing other people’s diseases, with stem cell research in general, which includes adult stem cell research and umbilical cord blood stem cell research.

The only limits in question are on federal funding of new embryonic stem cell lines, requiring the sacrifice of new embryos. Private and state-funded research (California voters are spending six billion dollars borrowing money to fund this) is ongoing. The implicit claim that research based on new embryos is “the most promising” is absurd, completely unsupported by the scientific literature, and an insult to voters, based as it is on the assumption that they are incapable of understanding the issue. Too stupid to tell the difference, is the elitist assumption underlying this campaign.

Flim-flam is a charitable description. Why would federally-funded research be more promising than state- and privately-funded research? And on what possible basis can the claim be made that embryonic stem cell research is more promising than adult stem cell research?

The plain fact is that embryonic stem cell research is proving to be a bust. There are currently 72 therapies showing human benefits using adult stem cells and zero using embryonic stem cells. Scientifically-minded readers can review this medical journal article on the status of adult stem cell research. while no such treatments are even remotely in prospect for embryonic stem cell research.

The fact is that adult stem cells have already produced remarkable cures, whereas embryonic stem cells have failed. This should come as no great surprise to anyone with a background in high school biology. When an embryo is created by the union of the sperm and egg, the cells begin to divide, creating embryonic stem cells from which all future tissues and organs are derived. Within days, the embryonic cells differentiate into three cell layers – ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Cells in these layers continue to differentiate into tissues and organs. As the embryo matures into a fetus, child, and adult, some undifferentiated cells of the three types remain in various tissues such as bone marrow, fat, skin and olfactory tissue.

These adult stem cells are multipotent: they have the ability to turn into a variety of types of tissues. Successful stem cell therapies cause the DNA in the adult stem cells to further differentiate into more specific types of cells. There is no point in getting the adult stem cell to turn into a less differentiated type of cell, or using the more primitive embryonic stem cells. This would be going backward, in the opposite direction of providing a clinically useful therapy. Difficulties abound with proposed embryonic stem cell therapies. The growth of the more primitive embryonic stem cells is more difficult to control and leads to tumor formation. Recent research suggests brain tumors may result. Additionally, the use of embryonic tissue foreign to the patient can potentially lead to problems with immune rejection of tissue, a problem not encountered in using a patient’s own adult stem cells.

America is the most formidable medical research center in the world, but it is far from alone in pursuing the potential of adult stem cells. The worldwide effort is impressive and growing. For non-adult stem cell research, a morally unquestionable alternative source exists: stem cells drawn from umbilical cord blood. Already a bank exists in Dubai collecting cord blood stem cells.

In short, the claims made in the Michael J. Fox political ads are false and reprehensible, an insult to the voters of Maryland, Missouri and New Jersey, and to all Americans.

Mary L. Davenport, MD is an obstetrician and gynecologist, and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: escr; michaeljfox; stemcells
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1 posted on 10/25/2006 7:05:58 AM PDT by veronica
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: veronica

bump


3 posted on 10/25/2006 7:09:43 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: veronica

"I wanna live dammit! I don't care how many babies you kill - just let me LIVE!!"


4 posted on 10/25/2006 7:09:51 AM PDT by camle (keep your mind open and somebody will fill it full of something for you)
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To: veronica
ABC was in full "You can't question MJF!" mode this morning.

The ABC Morning program was one long hit piece on Republicans. ...not one negative about the Democrats.

Surprising? No. ...just the outrageous indifference to their open bias.

5 posted on 10/25/2006 7:10:32 AM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: veronica

Dr. Davenport is right on the money with her comments.

I regret that Mr. Fox has Parkinson's. My aunt just died from it while fighting it for years. But to deliberately mislead people about a certain kind of stem cell research for political purposes is crueler than the disease.

Shame on Mr. Fox and on Benjamin Cardin.


6 posted on 10/25/2006 7:11:27 AM PDT by RexBeach (Will Rogers Never Met Bill Clinton.)
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To: veronica
Sean Hannitiy was on TV this morning with Diana Sawyer? and when Sean brought up MJF's congressional testimony about not having taken his meds before, she immediately cut him off and says "But this is now".
7 posted on 10/25/2006 7:12:43 AM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: veronica

It's sad that Michael J. Fox has this disease. It doesn't even bother me that he would use the disease to bring awareness to it.

However, using that disease to manipulate the public into destroying more lives, just to save him is pretty pathetic, if you ask me. The media attempts to make Rush Limbaugh the villian by pointing out Fox's false assertions, I honestly don't think will work this time. It is Fox who injected himself into this debate and is using his "star power" to manipulate the public to vote for candidates who will vote to destroy human lives just to save his.

Because he stepped into this arena, he deserves much of the criticism heaped upon him for his "factually challenged" statements.


8 posted on 10/25/2006 7:13:02 AM PDT by Sister_T (Conservative Bloggers are "Undocumented Journalists" ... doing the job "real journalists" won't do!)
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To: veronica

Good article. Also, to those of you who are in Missouri, Amendment 2 specifically permits cloning. If you believe this is wrong, please vote NO on 2.


9 posted on 10/25/2006 7:14:08 AM PDT by Bahbah (Shalit, Goldwasser and Regev, we are praying for you)
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To: veronica

I can't believe we live in a world where we have to defend against using the miracle of life for scientific experiments. God, please help us.


10 posted on 10/25/2006 7:14:15 AM PDT by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)
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To: veronica

DhimmicRAT pimp...


11 posted on 10/25/2006 7:14:41 AM PDT by johnny7 (“And what's Fonzie like? Come on Yolanda... what's Fonzie like?!”)
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To: veronica
In short, the claims made in the Michael J. Fox political ads are false and reprehensible, an insult to the voters of Maryland, Missouri and New Jersey, and to all Americans.

Yes they are .. but I have to say he also did us a favor by bringing attention to this Bogus Amendment in Missouri and the lies behind it

It's not a stem cell amendment .. it's about Cloning and sucking in endless amounts of taxpayer dollars

Questions You Should Ask, Answers You Should Know Regarding the Human Cloning Amendment

12 posted on 10/25/2006 7:14:46 AM PDT by Mo1 (GET OUT AND VOTE - SAY NO TO DEMOCRATS)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: RexBeach
Shame on Mr. Fox and on Benjamin Cardin.

They and their ilk have no conscience and so are incapable of truly feeling shame.

14 posted on 10/25/2006 7:16:42 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("An empty limousine pulled up and Hillary Clinton got out")
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To: veronica
The whole MJF ad campaign is offensive. The media is mercilessly attacking Rush for telling the truth.

It also seems to be backfiring on Dems:

Talent: 48% McCaskill: 45% (LA Times/Bloomberg NEW 10/25)

Poll was taken Oct. 20-23, so there is a window for the Fox ads to have been seen. Lets assume as I always do that Dems are oversampled. That means that even Dems may have not liked the ads. Time will tell.

15 posted on 10/25/2006 7:17:37 AM PDT by MaestroLC ("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
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To: Baynative
Exactly.
You step in the ring, you have to expect that you'll catch a few punches.
16 posted on 10/25/2006 7:19:26 AM PDT by absalom01 (The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.)
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To: TexasCajun
ABC was in full "You can't question MJF!" mode this morning.

Diane Sawyer was indignant to Sean Hannity. "You can't criticize Mike Fox! Rush was terrible to be critical of Mike! He has Parkinson's! He has a right to say what he wants! Doesn't he have a right to say what he wants, Sean!?!?!??"

UGH. A partisan and despicable scene on ABC this morning. Sean slapped her back really good!

17 posted on 10/25/2006 7:21:05 AM PDT by MaestroLC ("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
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To: Bahbah

Stem Cell research is rapidly becoming the 'Global Warming' issue of the new millenium. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research do not let the facts get in the way of their rhetoric. Just like educated skeptics of global warming are villified by the likes of 'experts' such as Al Gore, those who actually know what they are talking about, the author of this article for example, are shouted down by the likes of 'experts' such as Michael J Fox. Emotions trump reason in this debate, just as they do in the Global Warming iusse.


18 posted on 10/25/2006 7:21:07 AM PDT by milwguy
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To: GodBlessUSA

When they write the history books ("if there's anyone left who can read by that time," as Oliver North once said) about this period in U.S. history, one of the defining characteristics of our culture will be the manner in which we've deluded ourselves into thinking the Nazis lost World War II.


19 posted on 10/25/2006 7:21:57 AM PDT by Alberta's Child (Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?)
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To: veronica

Yes! I was able to see this ad....great sorrow that he is looking worse, perhaps Mr. Fox should be treated with those very same stem cells he is advocating for the general public. The senator's would be proud of him.


20 posted on 10/25/2006 7:23:11 AM PDT by ejo
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