'Eating' Our Young

The picture to the left is a screen capture from the movie 'The Matrix'. I know that it has kind of lost it's shock value now and I'm telegraphing the comparisons I'm going to make to the movie by showing it, but the events of the last few months have brought the image to my mind again. In a quote from the movie, the character Morpheus says -

For the longest time, I wouldn't believe it...and then I saw [..] them liquefy the dead, so they could be fed intravenously to the living

So, what has happened over the last few months to bring this to my mind?

1. On March the 9th, President Obama signed an executive order opening up the restrictions on taxpayer funding for embryo-destroying stem cell research, just as he promised he would in his election campaign. And what is his reasoning for this? -

"In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," said Obama. "In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research - and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."

So, 'sound science' and moral values are not inconsistent? I'm sorry, President Obama, but I'm finding it hard to find the 'sound science' in using unborn fetus's for experimentation, and it's a specious argument to say that it's for the good of humanity.

So, what does the Catholic Catechism say about Faith vs. Science? Are they at odds? Certainly not -

"Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."[bold emphasis mine]

I think the above pretty much speaks for itself.

So, do we really need to experiment with unborn embryos? I don't think so - and that brings me to the second item I noticed in the news -

2. Kiwi doctors are preparing to insert stem cells into a dozen disabled NZ'ers in a bid to help them walk again. And the difference?

The procedure involves extracting nerve tissue from a volunteer's nose and inserting this into the injured area of the spinal cord.Ms Vallis said the procedure offered no controversy over the source of cells because it involved a transfer of the patient's own cells.

"It's similar to a skin graft, so there is no need for complex anti-rejection drugs," she said.

"While doctors in other countries have actually made a start with these procedures, we have made use of the delays here, to continue studying the behaviour of human cells in our lab," she said."We are probably ahead of other countries in this knowledge."

"I now believe it will be in my lifetime that people will go into hospital with a spinal injury and walk out a few months later just as though they'd experienced a broken leg,"' Spinal Cord Society chairwoman Noela Vallis said tonight.

I believe that we Kiwi's have every right to be proud of our scientists. While other countries have lagged behind in this research and taken a diversionary path to look at using the stem cells from the unborn fetus, we have made great strides in research using the stem cells from the patient's own nose which means there will be less chance of rejection. Why don't other countries pick up on this? Mr Obama? Are you reading this? This is all about your 'sound science' and 'moral values' - there is no conflict between the two here.

The third news report nearly made me gag. It seems scientists in the UK are near discovering how to create 'synthetic' blood. The thinking is that the blood will be clean, disease-free, and won't require blood donors. 'That is interesting', I thought, until they reported that to 'make' this synthetic blood, the stem cells of embryo's would again be used. Hence, the reason that the picture above came to my mind.
Someone on another blog has made reference to the fact that it's nearly like us humans eating our unborn young.

I think that is very close to the truth.