Since the KC Star’s Kit Wagar continues refusing to report the stem cell debate accurately or objectively, I thought a few further examples of true scientific definitions are in order—definitions propounded by SCNT supporters, but which Wagar appears to care less about in his reporting.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science:
While use of the term embryo can be polarizing, it can also promote clarity, even where some feel it has too great a political, emotional, or social ‘charge.’ Thus, for the purposes of this report, we have chosen to use the term cloned embryo to describe the product of nuclear transplantation. (Regulating Human Cloning, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, April 2003; pg. 4.)
While use of the term embryo can be polarizing, it can also promote clarity, even where some feel it has too great a political, emotional, or social ‘charge.’ Thus, for the purposes of this report, we have chosen to use the term cloned embryo to describe the product of nuclear transplantation. (Regulating Human Cloning, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, April 2003; pg. 4.)
The American Medical Association:
Human therapeutic cloning involves the cloning of human embryos for the purpose of extracting stem cells that can be used to repair tissues and organs. (AMA Basic Genetics— FAQs.)
The (wildly pro-cloning) United Kingdom Fertilization and Embryology Authority:
The cloning technique, cell nuclear replacement, involves removing the nucleus of a human egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus from a human body cell, such as a skin cell. The egg is then artificially stimulated. This causes the egg to divide and behave in a similar way to a standard embryo fertilized by sperm. (Press Release of the UK Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, August 11, 2004.)
With such overwhelming evidence, Wagar’s continued use of misleading terminology and definitions is overwhelming evidence of bias, stubbornness, or most likely, both.
HT: Dorinda Bordlee—Bioethics Defense Fund
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