Get ready, folks. The stem cell argument is about to swing to the left in a big way.
W's approved stem cell lines are contaminated with mouse molecules -- making them unfit for transplantation into humans:
U.S. funded stem cells contaminated, study says
Karen Kaplan
Los Angeles Times
Jan. 24, 2005 12:00 AM
All human embryonic stem-cell lines approved for use in federally funded research are contaminated with a foreign molecule from mice that may make them risky for use in medical therapies, according to a study released Sunday.
Researchers at the University of California-San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., report that if the stem cells are transplanted into people, the cells could provoke an immune system attack that would wipe out their ability to deliver cures for diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes.
The finding is a setback to the Bush administration's policy that provides federal funding only for research using a limited number of embryonic stem-cell lines already in existence...." [MORE]
The Republicans have had their finger in the dike with this one -- and it looked like a winning bit of rhetoric for them to insist that we had all the stem cell lines we need.
But now we should have a fresh debate and open the floodgates on the right with this: This issue goes to the heart of their phony right-to-life morality. And they're squarely on the wrong side of public opinion.
Let the new debate begin!