Playing Politics with Cord Blood

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council argues that Democrats resisted the recently passed bill encouraging umbilical cord blood stem cell research for political reasons.

In part, he stated:

"By objecting to passage of the cord blood bill, Democrats are holding the bill as political hostage in order to get a vote on the bill to fund unsuccessful and ethically challenged embryonic stem cell research, which has not treated a single person. While Democrats repeatedly accuse Republicans of putting politics before science, in truth, Senate Democrats are the ones who are playing politics with stem cells and with patients' lives."

I don't even know where to start with this. Sure, the Democrats are playing politics with the bill. But to pretend for one moment that Republicans have not politicized the issue of stem cell research is ridiculous.

Cord blood provides one great way to harvest stem cells for research. Embryonic stem cell research is another. Those Republicans who pretend their stance on embryonic stem cell research is not an effort to appease its Christian base are horribly disingenuous.

If you want to read more of Perkin's half-truths, you may do so here.