Somebody Better Tell Senator Harkin!

On 13 April I posted the following: "To hear Iowa Senator Harkin (D- IA, I'm ashamed to say) tell it, adult stem cell research has proven useless. In a recent debate in the US Senate he said: "Scientists have known about adult stem cells for 40 years and they still haven't brought about a cure for juvenile diabetes." Either Senator Harkin is ignorant of the history of adult stem cell research, or he is deliberately lying because he knows that if he told the truth then he would have no justification for sponsoring the bill increasing funding for embryonic stem cell research." (Another Adult Stem Cell Success May Be in the Works)

In the blog I talked about a news report on a potential cure for Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes using adult stem cells. Recently I came across an article from the London Times talking about the breakthrough. What really caught my eye was the headline: "Diabetics cured in stem-cell treatment advance" I guess Sen. Harkin must be behind in his reading of the Times. Hopefully when he returns to his home in the Bahamas he'll be able to catch up.

Anyhow, the 1st point I am making is that once again Harkin has been proven to be ignorant, or a liar, or both. Neither of those facts about him seems to have proven a hinderance to his getting re-elected here in Iowa.

The article also gave more proof of the bias of the mainstream media & how it affects their reporting. The bias is evident in the center of the article: "Previous studies have suggested that stem-cell therapies offer huge potential to treat a variety of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease. A study by British scientists in November also reported that stem-cell injections could repair organ damage in heart attack victims.

But research using the most versatile kind of stem cells — those acquired from human embryos — is currently opposed by powerful critics, including President Bush."

They fail to mention several facts, 1st, that all the previous studies have shown that potential using adult or umbilical cord stem cells. This is esp blatant in the fact that the the article on organ damage repair that it links to starts out thus: "Heart attack victims will be given a revolutionary new treatment involving an injection of their own stem cells to repair the organ damage that they have suffered." If they are using their own stem cells then they can only be adult stem cells.

2nd, they fail to mention that many of the therapies are being the potential stage & are actually being regularly used to treat people with the "variety of diseases" they make reference to.

3rd, in the next paragraph they imply as blatently as they can without outrightly lying that these therapies that show potential use embryonic stem cells. & that it is horrible that people like President Bush oppose the use of them in research. They also fail to mention that the truth is that the experiments using fetal stem cells have either failed or have, in 2 trials, resulted in doing harm & not good to those people who were being used as guinea pigs in the trials. Elsewhere, they do their best to blur the distinction by lumping everything under the generic term "stem cell research".

It is past time that we turn up the heat on those who are causing harm by lying about fetal stem cell research. In their being a part of the "culture of death", those who support embryonic stem cell reseach & convince those who are victims of those "variety of diseases" to jump on their deadly bandwagon are proving that they don't really care about the victims. If they truly did care they would be supporting adult & umbilical cord research. Instead they are diverting money away from treatments & cures that not only could, but in many cases already do offer hope. How many more cures & treatments would already exist, or have existed sooner, if that money went where it should?, to ethical research. Research that offers "TRUE" hope.

The embryonic stem cell promoters offer out a false hope instead. & by doing so, how many more lives have been lost that could have, as I pointed out, been saved instead. But, I guess that really isn't so surprizing when you think about it. Wouldn't the members of the "culture of death" be about ensuring an increase in their victims? & those to whom they offer out false hope are just that. VICTIMS! Just as much as the unborn who are being aborted, the elderly & infirm who are being euthenized, the unborn who are being created in vitro by artificial insemination or cloning for use in creating stem cell sources only.

& how do we turn up the heat. 1st of all, by praying for them to repent & turn to God. Prayer is our most powerful weapon. It will open up doors & change hearts enabling them to accept the truth & change.

Then, we need to keep proclaiming the truth in an honest & straight forward manner. We need to call those things that are a part of the 'culture of death" (abortion, cloning, fetal stem cell research, etc.) what they truly are, EVIL!, plain & simple. We also need to do so in a loving & respectful a manner as possible. But, the mere fact we tell the truth will be seen by some as unloving or disrespectful no matter what. They will do so to try & silence us. We can't let them. Instead we need to follow the way shown to us by Jesus. He called sin sin. & made many a person angry. So did the Apostles & early Christians. They were criticized, persecuted & even martyred. We should expect no less.

We can proclaim the truth in so many ways. We can support the efforts of Pro-Life groups like those I have listed to the right. We can do so financially, but also by being actively involved with them or a local Pro-Life group. We can pray at abortion centers. As a Catholic I am firmly convinced that 1 of the most powerful weapons we have is praying the Rosary. (The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 is a definitive proof of this. See Feast of the Holy Rosary for more info.) We can become involved in sidewalk counciling. We can help out groups like Birthright. We can write letters to our elected officials, to newspapers & magazines. We can blog to get the info out. We can be involved in public marches. We can wear t-shirts with the Pro-Life message. The "tiny feet" pin is a great way to witness. I've been asked several times about the pair I wear. & I've made a few people uncomfortable when I've explained what they stand for. I could go on & on.

The reality is we are in a battle & in it for the long haul. There will be times when we get discouraged. There will be times when we seem to suffer defeat. We can't let those times stop us & keep us from going on. There will be times when we see a victory, no matter how small. When the occur we can't stop there, we need to let them encourage us to go on to full victory. We need to focus on Christ & keep our eyes on Him. In the end, trusting in Jesus & relying on the power of the Holy Spirit will ensure that no matter what, we will have all we need to do what we must to bring about the "Culture of Life" God the Father desires.

(Umbert the Unborn by Gary Cangami cartoon added 7 May 2007 11:55pm)