This story in the KC Star begins by describing Eric Westacott as a lawyer who has filed an ethics complaint against Missouri Cures Without Cloning for failing to file a finance report required by MO law. But, later in the article we come to find out that:
Westacott said he filed the complaint because, as a quadriplegic since breaking his neck playing softball nearly 14 years ago, he is bothered that a group is trying to block research that could lead to medical breakthroughs.
We were expecting many legal challenges against us during this campaign but this is disappointing – for me personally anyway. As a disabled person myself it often frustrates me to see our side portrayed as being “against cures” and insensitive to those who suffer with disease and disability. In fact, we are so in favor of cures and helping the disabled we want to focus the research onto that which is showing the most promise and helping patients today.
Said Westacott, “I see stem cells as the best opportunity for me to walk again.” So do we! Adult stem cells, including those from umbilical cord blood, have helped treat patients with a number of different diseases and disabilities, including spinal cord injury, and they are our best hope for greater cures and treatments in the future.
In light of the many real successes with adult stem cells I am sad to see so people, like Mr. Westacott, utterly convinced that their greatest hope lies in research which requires the creation and destruction of human life – research which also is either a. not yet a possibility (no human embryos have ever been cloned, therefore no research has ever been done on their stem cells) or b. such a failure in animal subjects that after 25 years no human trials have even been attempted.
4 Comments on “Quadriplegic Files Complaint Against Cures Without Cloning”
CZ, this would be a great one for you to take care of (i.e. write the STAR), given your status as a paralytic who SUPPORTS Cures Without Cloning. If the STAR publishes his letter and not yours, we’ll have evidence of a pro-cloning bias on their part.
Oh, I know. I just have to sit down and make myself write a letter and turn it in. I’m on it.
The Bible said that the antichrist would come with “signs and wonders”. But here Satan is, getting people to sell their souls for the mere promise of signs and wonders, while real help is available!
Talk about being in thrall! What is it that once somebody accepts ESCR, they become totally blind to anything else?
Christina,
You got me there. The arguments from the other side are often very appealing to those seeking cures, especially if they only listen to those people and don’t seriously seek the truth on their own. That is what happened to James Kelly, a paraplegic who was in favor of ESCR for a long time before studying the subject on his own and ultimately changing his mind. Here is a transcript of a testimony he gave to the NJ State Assembly: http://www.stemcellresearch.org/testimony/kelly.htm