It’s another day in the life of the busy Obama administration. In this case, it means another day of despair for America’s social and religious conservatives.
President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research on Monday, angering abortion opponents but cheering those who believe further scientific investigations could lead to breakthrough treatments for many diseases. You can see our report here.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Obama has also lifted a ban on funding for overseas groups or clinics that provide or counsel on abortion services, rescinded a Bush administration rule to protect health workers who refuse to provide services and information on moral grounds, and publicly backed the constitutional separation between church and state which he said America’s founding fathers “wisely drew.”
This is a sharp departure from his predecessor, George W. Bush, whose eight years in office represented a challenge to the country’s liberals. Now it’s conservative Christians, who comprise a key base for the opposition Republican Party, who find themselves in a dilemma.
Religious and social conservatives oppose embryonic stem cell research because it involves destruction of human embryos.
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a leading member of the Republican Party’s conservative Christian wing, summed up this view in a statement: “If an embryo is a life, and I believe strongly that it is life, then no government has the right to sanction their destruction for research purposes.”
Obama also signed a presidential memorandum directing the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy for “restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making.”
Some scientists accused Bush of sacrificing scientific research and subverting scientific findings to appease his conservative political and religious base, not only on stem cells but on climate change policy, energy and reproductive and end of life issues
If you tune into conservative Christian radio stations or read press releases and blogs from groups such as the Family Research Council, it’s clear that the “Religious Right” sees more gloom and liberal doom on the horizon.
As Obama moves to unravel the Bush legacy on social and scientific policies, they are likely to have more sleepless nights over the next four years.
(Photo: A human embryonic stem cell line derived at Stanford University is seen in this handout photo REUTERS/Julie Baker/Stanford University School of Medicine/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine/Handout, March 9, 2009)
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A faith based educational system? Yeah,..that teaches evolution, the big bang theory, that we evolved from monkeys? How is that faith based? So many people try to say that we are forcing are belief systems upon them, but what about evolutionists? Evolution is not a proven fact. I remember looking at the pictures of evolution from monkeys when I was young in science books and I noticed that the pictures showing the change from that time period with those monkeys having human feet. Why is that? To try to get me to believe something that Darwin himself said would be false when it came to the arguement of sub-species. When it comes to these wars, you cannot always blame it on religion. What about greed or just power? There are millions of christians and muslims in the world who don’t believe in war. That is what I meant when I talked about sancitfiying life. Even the bible says that on that day many will cry Lord, Lord and he tells them he didn’t know them. You can’t say we cause all the problems if there are so many of us against those things. On things getting worse…..How are they getting better? Because you cannot tell me they are. You’re right, God did give us minds to help prevent disease. My personal belief is that an embryo is life. But what about abortion? God surely didn’t give us the right to kill children who didn’t deserve it. I’m not talking about rape victims, I’m talking about those people who just don’t want the responsibility of a child. Once you give that person the right to abort, then it makes it ok for everyone and that’s not right.
- Posted by Joni argue with the concept of faith-holders having a “sanctification of life.” if this were true, all religions would preach vegetarianism, dissent all wars and abolish the death penalty. but they don’t. religions promote wars via ideological differences with the intent on either converting the unfaithful or erasing them from the planet. this does not demonstrate a sanctification of life.
the reason humans have not evolved beyond territorial battles, faith-based battles, from beyond killing animals for sustenance, alleviated famine and disease is 100% due to improper education and a faith-based belief system where uneducated people are making decisions. let’s just take the example of galileo galilei who was put under house arrest for his controversial beliefs that conflicted with the church and were later proved to be true and accepted by the entire world. the uneducated church stopped progress. let me repeat, the CHURCH stopped progress. this is just one example from the 1600’s that demonstrates that faith inhibits intellectual growth. we have 400 more years on top of that and several thousand before that with similar examples. unfortuantely, there isn’t enough memory on this server (nor time in my life) to post them all.
the last comment i want to make directly addresses the statement, “[...] but you just make things worse by trying to take control of life without realizing the consequences that you will eventually face.”
that is completely irrational fear speaking. where is your information that things are getting worse? who is trying to take control? what are the consequences? are the consequences a judgment from some god for keeping people from dying prematurely? from saving people with dehabilitating diseases? are you telling me that some god gave us minds, creativity and the ability to treat disease only NOT to do so? this is about as contrary to a supposed sanctification of life as it can get…
- Posted by victorWe the “uneducated” of America, voice our opinions because we believe in the sanctifcation of life. If all these atheists want to bash us on the premise of scientific fact, try it. It won’t work. You claim no God, or you try to play his role by doing things like cloning. If you’re so certain of your evolutionist theories and you claim life has been evolving over millions of years, then why is there still war, famine, disease. If we are evolving then we should have improved our way of living by now, but you just make things worse by trying to take control of life without realizing the consequences that you will eventually face.
- Posted by JonChristians have long been opponents of rational scientific thought. Look at the ‘Dark Ages,’ supression of discovery, science and rational thought by the Catholic Church for 1000 years. The Protestants did no better. Fanatical Christians in the US want a theocracy devoid of scientific discovery where they can force others to accept their ‘faith’ as science. The earth is flat, not more than 6000 years old, was ‘created’ in 7 days and an ongoing long list of irrational and irrelevant thought. In their world, embryos are people too and should not be ‘killed’… no human life should be taken, unless it is the death penalty or war, then suddenly killing becomes ok. hypocrites as always… ‘Christians’ have killed more people in the name of their religion than Hitler and Stalin combined. Christ must be rolling in his grave, or heaven or wherever you all believe he is.
- Posted by MikeI am VERY thankful to see our new administration making decisions based on science needs as oppossed to the so-called needs of the religious reich. For too long our great country has cowered down and took orders from these religious extremists who in my and many others opinion are as bad as hitler and the extremist muslums. THAT is what our world is facing…extremism from ALL the religios sects. They murder and kill in the name of their god and have since time began. That includes christians, who try to act innocent of blood on their hands. They stand in the streets and yell about OTHER people shedding blood, and try to hide the fact that they have shed more blood than ANYONE…thewy even hung their own god on a cross,,,hahahaha…
- Posted by iloveallofyawlwhy are undereducated people (e.g. religious/cult/anarchist/nouveau activist types) science phobic? why is it even remotely possible for people who not only have no concept of the general science, yet less, no concept of the specific science be allowed to make policy on it? that would be like having a whaler making decisions on how to farm. any belief system is dangerous if it doesn’t allow you to make educated decisions. if you’re not educated, then you’re just guessing, aren’t you?
- Posted by victorSeparation of church and state came from Thomas Jefferson. The USA was not “founded” upon church and state. Freedom from state religion is just one of the many great principles that this country was built upon. The law that came out of that were written to protect the church from the state and allow for freedom of religion. It is a great concept.
That being said, to use this as the final word in an argument is neither logical nor fair. Many decisions for scientific research will bring about moral choices that need to be made. Each company, research group, and lab scientist will have to make moral choices. They will do that based upon their morality. They should listen to what the government recommends and follow it’s laws and use their morality (or religion) to to what they think is right. As I read bioethics, I realize i have much to learn about all of this. If I cannot be influenced by either the church and the state; or only one or the other, where should I turn for good information?
I believe to say that state and church should not discuss these matters can lead to great loss in the advancement of what’s best for all people. So I would recommend keeping the conversation going instead of claiming “separation of church & state” as some kind of wild card or conversation stopper.
- Posted by Matt