It is some time ago that pluripotent stem cells were first created by inducing skin cells (non-embryonic) to transform into such, but the latest news has been developed into a much more efficient one, and so shows enormous promise in developing regenerative therapies that might be applied to diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and to spinal cord injuries. By bypassing the ethical (not to mention technical) obstacles involved in getting these kinds of cells through the destruction of human embryos, this gives cause to everyone to celebrate, right?
Well, apparently not. Wesley Smith, who has studied and written on these issues for many years, asserts the reason why strong advocacy of experimentation on human embryos will continue apace:
Why? Because stem cell advances are not the end game. As I wrote here, they are merely the opening stanza of a much longer symphony that seeks to open the door to Brave New World technologies such as genetic engineering and enhancement, that requires cloning and experimenting on the resulting embryos to perfect.
George W. deserves credit. He knew this mattered and he took the right tack.