Imagine how restoring sight to the blind using embryonic stem cells would put the inane debate over contraception and personhood into stark perspective. That’s exactly what could happen given a report from embryonic stem cells researchers:
( Houston Chronicle) — The study, conducted at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), used retinal cells created from embryonic stem cells supplied by a biotechnology company. The retinal cells were injected into the eyes of two patients suffering from two different forms of progressive blindness and, in time, significantly improved their vision.
The article says one of the patients suffered from macular degeneration, which suggests the material may have induced retinal regeneration.
That’s a Big Fucking Deal. The Big Fucking Question: what’s scary under the shadoow of our latest manufactured wingnut lunacy, proposed state and federal bills would allow employers to deny health insurance coverage for future regenerative treatement if they object to stem cells.
There’s a lot of work to be done. But it’s real good bet that regenerative medicine is coming, and research on embryonic stem cells is leading the way. These cells hold the promise for treating virtually every disease and injury known to medical science. New organs for cancer patients, new limbs for amputees, spinal cords repaired for the paralyzed, perhaps even extending life beyond the current, cruel limits imposed by nature.
All made possible in part by studying cells that social conservatives literally prefer we dispose of under the guise of saving them. I would not want to be on that side of the aisle, fanatically waving around a personhood amendment, when the first photogenic kid gets up out of his or her wheelchair and walks thanks to stem cells.