I frequently thank God for the great minds within the pro-life movement who have to struggle with the latest announcement from scientists, particularly in the case of stem cell research. As a grandmother, mother and wife I never had the training required to make sense out of much of the gobbledygook I read in the news and even, at times, in the medical journals.
But I have come to realize that when something is clear and definitive, people like me should be able to understand it, regardless of what the subject is. That is why the recent debate over reprogramming stem cells caused so much confusion and delusion.
However Debi Vinnedge of Children of God for Life, the pro-life giant who opposes fetal cell tissue in vaccines, has done the yeoman's work of sorting out the latest "news" and what she has discovered is shocking but worthy of study, attention and action.
You may recall the announcement that Shinya Yamanaka and James Thompson claimed to be able to reprogram adult stem cells to mimic the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells. There were raves and accolades around the world including some Catholic organizations that were ecstatic at the news.
But sadly, the news got it all wrong, as Vinnedge and Professor Theresa Deisher of Ave Marie Biotechnology pointed out in a recent COGFORLIFE press release and accompanying article by Deisher.
The fact of the matter is that when you read the papers published by Yamanaka and Thomson you have no idea where the DNA is coming from and it takes DNA to do the experiments they were involved in. Well, lo and behold, that DNA came from cell lines taken from babies who were intentionally aborted.
I would encourage you to read the COGFORLIFE press report and the accompanying articles. It is not hard to understand what Vinnedge is saying. Why? Because the facts are clear, the smoke has been blown away and the resulting information is devastating. The lesson I have learned from this is that we dare not celebrate anything claimed to be a victory until we have taken the time to carefully and thoughtfully analyze the underlying facts rather than the media statements.
Kudos to Debi Vinnedge, a heroine for our time!
