Bush administration puts the kibosh on stem cell research

[buz46]

http://salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/06...ant/index.html

The above salon article is as frightening, to me, as the the rapid deconstruction, imho, of our civil liberties. However, it seems all the more sinister b/c it has been lost in the shuffle of post 9/11 hysteria. Here is a sample of Leon Kass's logic regarding stem cell research, as it pertains to prolonging human life and alleviating human suffering:

According to Kass, it is a deeply fundamental aspect of life to suffer and die. When we try to fix this natural order, we lose our soul, our essential humanity. This is a dressed-up version of the creaky "natural law" argument that John Stuart Mill shot down in the 1800s.

Kass' theories are based on the idea that nature knows best. This is the antithesis of scientific progress, which is always trying to control nature. Those who abide exclusively by natural law are comfortable with diseases because they're a part of nature. Science aims to tame nature and cure diseases. Reasonable people will accept parts of each philosophy, but Kass comes down too firmly on the side of nature, to the detriment of humans.

While we are glued to CNN, waiting for the "imminent attack", Shrub is slipping potential legislation like this past us.