Bedward Family - Commentary

"Doctor Bush" and the Stem Cells

Craig Bedward

Many conservatives praised Bush's decision allowing research on stem cell lines that already existed. I disagree. It is a terrible decision and it makes me seriously question his stand on the issue of life.

One of the things that troubled me about Bush's speech was the amount of pro-abortion lingo he used. In some cases, he was trying to show their side of the argument, but he did not go on to refute it. He just stated it as one of many "diverse opinions."
Phrases he used:
"destroys its potential for life" (the pro-life phrase would read "destroys its life", "kills it", etc.)
"unique genetic potential of an individual human being"
"Many of these embryos are byproducts of a process that helps create life" Wrong! They are not byproducts. They are the intended "product" -- they are people! They are not the consequence of some other life being created. They are lives that were created! Are we to believe if you make half a dozen children through some fertility process that the one you pick is a person and the other five are byproducts of creating the child you choose not to kill?

He poses the basic question "...are these frozen embryos human life and therefore something precious to be protected?" But he fails to answer it. He failed to lead. He failed to stand up for life. He just wanted us to know how "complex" this decision is. Interestingly, he refers to them as "these frozen embryos" which is somewhat demeaning in itself. Is that part of his answer to the question?

The fact is that the issue is not really complex at all. He asked the right question (almost): are they people? How you answer that question determines how you come down on the issue. It may be socially and politically complex, but morally it is quite a simple question.
The only thing complex about it is how to play his decision in the public eye to best affect him politically. And he took the bold step of going along with something polls say 70% of the American people wanted.

It sure is great to have a strong pro-life leader, someone willing to step out on a limb for what he believes.

Some people will think the President's decision is a good compromise. It allows research to continue without the government killing any embryos, only using the ongoing cells of embryos already killed.

What we have to ask is this: Would you accept an item given to you by a thief who killed someone to get it?

Remember what Horton said of the Who's: "A person's a person, no matter how small"