Originally published on the Whitworthian.com 4.5.09

It truly is a fascinating time to be alive in our nation, particularly for those of voting age. Rarely in the history of our nation have two sides become so deeply polarized. Right vs. Left has become the new North vs. South – it has left the arena of rival ideologies for the battlefield of unyielding dogma.

While the vote-hungry are taking advantage of this new era, there are large groups of innocent people who are being caught in the cross-fire of politics. Christians are the villainous right. Traditional families are the roadblocks of progress. Unborn children are nuisances in the way of personal liberty. And a great many others.

But the latest casualty to politics is surprising, particularly considering where the fatal shot came from. Newly joined to the ranks of the fallen is science, that great method of research and discovery.

President Obama recently lifted the ban on embryonic stem cell research, a ban that President Bush put in place in 2001. Ironically, he claimed to be endorsing science while he instead endorsed his political safety and the destruction of human embryos.

Some background. Most people have heard of stem cell research. It has long been hailed as the medical miracle of our times. Stem cells are essential biological blank slates, the building blocks of life. Depending upon the instructions given to it, a stem cell can grow into virtually any other kind of cell in the body. The potential benefits of harnessing this quality of stem cells are enormous, and the list of diseases and disorders that stem cells could cure is long.

It is, however, an issue that has divided not only the scientific community, but also the nation. The essential problem that many see with embryonic stem cell research is that harvesting those stem cells requires the destruction of their source – a human embryo. A great many Americans, myself included, see this as an unconscionable action. As Horton the Elephant said, a person’s a person, no matter how small.

However, in recent years it has been discovered that adult stem cells can be used in similar ways to embryonic stem cells. There are a few different ways of getting them, and many different bodily sources (fat, the umbilical cord, bone marrow, nasal tissue, and several others). But the bottom line is, these sources don’t require the destruction of an embryo, and thus erase the controversy from the issue.

Since the discovery of adult stem cells, potential cures have been discovered for over 70 human disorders, including HIV, diabetes and leukemia, and there have been several recorded successful human cures using adult stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, have yet to cure anyone of anything. Researchers have yet to discover a treatment using embryonic stem cells that is even viable for testing in humans, and while there have been many “breakthroughs” over the years from successful animal tests, little or nothing has come of these in terms of saving or improving human lives.

In addition to this, embryonic stem cells have been found problematic in other ways, sometimes developing mutations and producing tumors.

So the question is this: why would Obama sign an order the allows federal funding (translated: your tax dollars) to pay for research that has provided no results and that a huge percentage the country has a moral problem with?

There don’t seem to be any good answers. Part of it is apparently that it looks good on the news. The truth is that most people aren’t educated enough in the issue to truly know what the implications of either side are. So when CNN or Fox News runs a splash screen that President Obama has lifted a ban on science put in place by President Bush, all he gets is applause and higher approval ratings, while the minority of those who know the facts behind the facade aren’t as universally positive about it.

Now, certainly President Obama isn’t the only one to play at politics, so don’t think I’m singling him out. But the fact remains, this decision is a tragic display of misplaced priorities.

Even if you’ve educated yourself in the matter and fall into the camp of those who have no moral problem with embryonic stem cell research, should the government really be forcing the other half of the nation who doesn’t agree to pay for it?

Especially when there is such a promising and successful alternative readily available, why are tax dollars being funneled into a project that is so fraught with moral controversy? How can this decision result in anything other than more division in our nation?

It’s not only a fascinating time to be alive in our nation; it is also a sad time.  When true scientific progress is ignored while a concept that is morally divisive and has produced no results is lifted up, it’s a sad day.

One has to wonder what exactly is driving decisions like this, because it certainly isn’t science, and it certainly isn’t the kind of change we need.