# What the fuck does Laura Bush know about stem cells? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 10, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242 "2004-08-10T19:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/81 "2004-08-12T21:59:57Z")
> [@light strand](#): > > Whoa! **duffer** , dude I’m not advocating anything but stem cell research for embryos that are being destroyed by the wishes of the people who created them, and have very few options. > > I’d appreciate if you go back and read what I wrote in it’s entirety before you get to calling me names. PWE. (posting while emotional) Guilty. Sorry for the name-calling. It was unwarranted. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/82 "2004-08-13T00:48:55Z")
I heard yesterday that scientists have discovered that cancers have stem cells that have a lot to do with their growth and their regenerative ability. So stem cell research is also likely to become critical in the fight against cancer. If I were opposed to stem cell research I’d have that “deer in the headlights” feeling right about now, i.e, :eek: because now they’re going to have to oppose cancer research, too. Oh, this is SUCH a losing battle for them. Couldn’t happen to a more self-righteous, smarmier bunch of people. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/83 "2004-08-13T00:58:22Z")
Well, never underestimate the ability for the smarmy self-righteous to engage in major-league rationalization. For example, to be opposed to embryonic stem cell research, one would also have to oppose in-vitro fertilization (at least as it is commonly practiced). As Kevin Drum put it at [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com): > [@](#): > > As for the moral arguments, let’s insist on a full and complete discussion of those too — without the usual shilly shallying and prevaricating. The idea that a 1-week old embryo is a human being has always struck me as depressing: a nihilistically mechanical view of humanity in which DNA + miscellaneous chemicals = human life. Still, it’s a fact that some people feel this way. But if they do, then they have to accept the logical consequences of this view in their public speech too: a complete ban on all abortion, all fertility treatments that utilize multiple eggs, and all embryonic stem cell research. Not just a ban on federal funding, but a complete ban. Put that on the table and I think we’d find out pretty quickly how many people really believe that humanity begins at conception. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/84 "2004-08-13T01:09:08Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Am I the only person who finds it ironically amusing that Bush is opposing stem-cell research with the “sanctity of life” argument, after the [high number of executions](http://www.bushkills.com/record.html) he presided over while serving as Governor of Texas? There is no contradiction between excecuting murderers and wanting to protect the innocent, in fact they are fundimentaly the same thing. And no, you are hardly the first person to make such an observation. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/85 "2004-08-13T01:09:11Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Am I the only person who finds it ironically amusing that Bush is opposing stem-cell research with the “sanctity of life” argument, after the [high number of executions](http://www.bushkills.com/record.html) he presided over while serving as Governor of Texas? Maybe. I find it ironic, but not amusing. It’s very depressing to find that most of the “pro-life” politicians out there seem to follow that stance only when talking about the unborn. Adults in prison are not human, I guess. I am firmly convinced of the sanctity of human life, and I oppose the death penalty for that very reason. We can keep prisoners secure and our society safe without killing them. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242/86 "2004-08-13T01:10:47Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Well, never underestimate the ability for the smarmy self-righteous to engage in major-league rationalization. For example, to be opposed to embryonic stem cell research, one would also have to oppose in-vitro fertilization (at least as it is commonly practiced). As Kevin Drum put it at [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com): If you had been reading this thread you would see that many are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-does-laura-bush-know-about-stem-cells/259242.md?page=4)