The American Spectator

Reader Mail

p> STEMMING KERRY DEMAGOGY br> Re: Danny Turken's letter ("Stemmed in Boston") in Reader Mail's Dreamland : /p>

Danny Turken's critiques of my stem-cell piece demonstrate naivety and confused thinking and do not poke any hole in the central point of my article: the Kerry campaign uses dishonest demagoguery to try to make a wedge issue.

Before responding to Turken it is important to restate that John Kerry endorses taxing Americans to pay for human cloning and experiments on and manipulation of those clones. George W. Bush, it is important to note, hasn't placed any restrictions on stem-cell research of any type and has even dedicated unprecedented federal funding towards embryonic stem-cell research.

My comments on ESC treatment for Alzheimer's was based on expert analysis, and was, in fact, mostly quotation of experts. Turken is flat wrong when he writes, "the only ESC cells they are allowed to use are those contaminated with mouse cells."

Again, scientists are allowed to use any cells they like. They are not allowed to use my money to create human life for the sake of experimentation or to do experiments on life created for that purpose.

p>When Turken writes I misunderstand stem-cells he offers no coherent argument to back up that claim or his accusation I am ignorant. The topic is a sensitive one because of how deeply so many people suffer from ailments they hope science can solve. That makes it particularly unconscionable for the left to demagogue the topic. br> -- Timothy P. Carney br> Washington, D.C. /p>

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