Obama flunks science

The recent directive from President Obama restored funding for research on embryonic stem cells. He said we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.

Unfortunately, our president is wrong both about the science and about moral theory. The science of adult stem cell research is well-developed and has discovered a number of potential treatments for diseases. To date, there has not been a single possibility come from embryonic research.

Private companies are putting their money where it will actually do some good in adult stem cell research.

Obama’s premise that his decision is based on science, not ideology, is false. He has simply adopted the ideology that embryos are disposable and are not to be valued. This is a moral decision, not a scientific one. Science helps us understand the natural world. It should not develop a moral framework and then call that scientific; it is not. Science deals with data. That data may then be used to support a moral position, but science does not formulate morals. We have simply swapped one ideology for another.

Donald F. Calbreath

Spokane