10/26/2006

Michael J Fox isn't the only celebrity with an opinion

And not all opinionated celebrities agree with each other.

When it comes to stem cell research, maybe people will give Fox's opinion more weight due to his illness. I have sympathy for the guy, but his situation doesn't change whether the the relative value of adult versus embryonic stem cell research.

The truth is that I'm not convinced whether one is more promising than the other. I also remain unconvinced that embryonic stem would be worth harvesting embryos, even if we were certain of the benefits. Even if the benefits were beyond our wildest dreams.

The other thing which disturbs me is the idea that somehow when a celebrity (any celebrity) enters the political arena as a spokesperson for a candidate or an issue they are somehow above the fray. It's late enough in the political season that I tend to sigh or groan almost anytime I hear a poltical ad, because I've heard the ads once, twice, three dozen times in just the last week and I'm aware of the spinning and the truth stretching and the attempts at damage control. Like everybody else, I get tired of the spin from all the candidates.

But celebrities aren't above the kind of behavior that makes the average citizen sour on politics. From Fox's ad for Claire McCaskill:

"Unfortunately Senator Jim Talent opposes expanding stem cell research," Fox claims. "Senator Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope."
According to Lifenews:
Though the ad makes it appear Talent opposes all kinds of stem cell research, he has voted in favor of spending millions in federal funds for adult stem cell research, the only kind of research that has ever cured a single patient.

What Talent has opposed is forcing taxpayers to pay for studies using embryonic stem cells, which can only be obtained by destroying human life.


H/T: Michelle Malkin