On
stem cells, vaccines and ignorance
By
Amanda Smith
IÕm not a woman who is
easily angered, but this is one issue guaranteed to spike my blood pressure. It
isnÕt really the issue of stem cell research itself which prods spirited
debates from me, but rather, it is purposeful ignorance. Two situations here
will support my point: the controversy over stem cell research and the more
recent battle over the new STD vaccine, Gardasil.
Case 1: The religious right
tells us human embryonic stem cell research (hESCR) should be prohibited
because even embryos which havenÕt been implanted have the same rights as a
completely developed person. This is an absolutely ridiculous statement.
Picture yourself in a fertility clinic which is burning down. You have the
option of saving either the other person, or a freezer full of thousands of
unused embryos. Would your choice really be that difficult? We are told
destroying embryos is wrong because they have the potential of becoming humans.
This begs the question which is more important: somebody who already exists, or
the potential for an existing human?
You may wonder why I
brought fertility clinics into this debate. They pair with the stem cell issue
perfectly. Researchers want to use fertilized eggs clinics havenÕt used and
will ultimately destroy. Sure, each of these fertilized eggs has potential, but
if they will be destroyed regardless, why not let scientists use them for good
purposes? Why let the potential for good work be wasted? Few who find stem cell
research immoral also disapprove of fertility clinics and the practice of in
vitro fertilization. Not many people IÕve had this debate with fully realize
just how many embryos must be created for one successful pregnancy. If it is
immoral to use embryos for research, then why isnÕt it immoral for a woman to
allow a large number of embryos to be destroyed in the process of becoming
impregnated via IVF? If you couldnÕt guess, the worst kind of ignorance in this
case is being informed about the procedures of IVF and stem cell research,
while stubbornly protesting one issue, but not the other. This is just one
example of how ignorance, purposeful or not, is harmful to the advancement of
medical science.
Case 2: The controversy
surrounding the new vaccine, Gardasil. If youÕve watch much TV recently youÕve
probably seen ads for this new drug which protects against the human papiloma
virus. The strains targeted by this vaccine cause cervical cancer, so a
breakthrough protection for this disease would be seen as good, right? Not so much.
Some middle and high schools have pushed for this vaccine to be required of all
girls, but this push hasnÕt been easy. Some claim requiring this vaccination
will lead to increased teenage promiscuity. This, dear reader, is another
outrageous claim. Put yourself in a teenage girlÕs shoes. Would you have sex
just because you know youÕre protected from this one disease? I know I
wouldnÕt. If teenagers are going to have sex, theyÕll do it whether or not
theyÕre protected against STDÕs such as HPV. Tell me, do you think if a vaccine
for a venereal disease which affects only men were created there would be
controversy on requiring the vaccine on grounds it would make recipients of the
vaccine promiscuous? I highly doubt this would happen. Probably, it would be
seen as a miracle drug, and there would be no problem making it required for
all middle and high school aged boys.
You might be thinking itÕs
a bad idea to push Gardasil on adolescents simply because so few studies have
been done looking for side effects. I agree with this argument. Gardasil
shouldnÕt be required immediately, we should first learn what will happen long
term to vaccine recipients before forcing it on teenagers. My point is:
fighting approval of a drug on moral grounds is unethical. To wrap this up, I
have one question: if there were a way to help those in need, be it through
vaccines, or stem cell therapies, would you really say no?
Amanda Smith will be a
senior this fall at Knox College majoring in biology. She is studying embryonic
stem-cells this summer in the collegeÕs laboratory under a grant from the
Howard Hughes Medical Research Center.