Scott Tibbs
Bloomington Herald Times,
August 8^th, 2004

Back to Letters to the Editor.

President Reagan's legacy abused on stem-cell research

To the editor:

It is shameful that Democrats are abusing President Ronald Reagan's legacy to advocate for embryonic stem-cell research, something Reagan himself would have never supported. Democrats brought out the president's son, Ron Reagan, at their national convention to support stem-cell research.

President Reagan was unabashedly pro-life. He consistently stood for the rights of the unborn throughout his presidency. If Reagan were alive and able to articulate his views today, he would be speaking against stem-cell research. Reagan would not have approved of destroying life just as it is formed for the purposes of "scientific research." Embryos killed by stem-cell research have all of the building blocks of life, including a unique DNA sequence. Those lives need only time, nutrition and shelter to develop through the stages of life.

Hillary Clinton called for a lifting of the "ban" on stem-cell research. This is dishonest, as there is no "ban" on such research. There is, however, a ban on federal funding for stem cell research.

This despite the fact that adult stem-cell research has already produced significant advances in medical science while embryonic stem-cell research has produced none. This research is more successful and far more ethical than embryonic stem-cell research.