PLEASE Help me Spread The Word on WHY WE NEED FED STEM CELL FUNDING

berni_mccoy

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Sun Nov-05-06 08:20 PM
Original message

PLEASE Help me Spread The Word on WHY WE NEED FED STEM CELL FUNDING

Edited on Sun Nov-05-06 08:25 PM by berni_mccoy

I've heard too many times the argument from the ultra-religious and insane backers of Bush that we are free to fund stem cell research all we want, just don't ask our tax dollars to do. Anyone who makes this claim obviously does not live with a chronic disorder or disease that stem cell research can cure. Like TENS OF MILLIONS of Americans and over 1 BILLION people world wide, I do.

My son was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes nearly two years ago and every day we live with the fact that he must be pricked and injected and ultimately live a shorter life, full of much higher risk for life-threatening complications. We live with very high medical bills despite the fact that I am fortunate enough to have very good medical coverage from my employer. Co-pays and deductibles for regular visits, test strips of various kinds, lancets, infusion sets, syringes, insulin and other supplies and medicines we need for him cost us well over $4000 / year out of pocket. We still find a way to make contributions to the American Diabetes Society and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation totaling well over $1000 / year. Additionally, we walk in the annual JDRF Walk for a Cure and we've averaged raising $4500 / year since we started. From what I understand, my family is above normal on our ability to donate and raise money. Millions of other American families are just like ours... living with high medical expenses and also donating whatever they can scrape up to find a cure. But it isn't enough.

For example, the JDRF is an organization that was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type-1 diabetes, just like me. In those 36 years, JRDF as awarded over $1 billion to research. That's an average of just $27 million a year (last year they raised $122 million).

That $1 billion in research has taken us oh so very far. Needles are thinner, lighter and less intrusive. Checking blood sugar now only takes seconds instead of minutes. Various types of insulin have been developed to minimize the number of shots per day have been developed. And we know today that type-1 is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the insulin producing cells (islet cells) in the pancreas. We've seen successful islet cell transplants in extreme cases. The cases that get transplants must be extreme due to the fact that that the doner-to-recipient ratio for transplant cure is 10-to-1. We've recently seen the disease cured in animals through the use of stem cells. But for the disease to be cured in humans, it will require more than a billion dollars, the total amount of money raised by people like me in the last thirty years. Scientist believe we are within 20 years of a cure, ASSUMING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS STEM CELL RESEARCH.

So, to those who say, "Fund a cure yourself but not with my taxpayer money..." I say you are being immoral with your selfishness and elitist beliefs and have NO IDEA what people like me live with. WE ARE funding it, but it simply isn't enough. By forcing your beliefs on everyone else, you are withholding great healing that will heal well over a BILLION PEOPLE world-wide, the majority of which do NOT SHARE YOUR BELIEFS. America has GREAT CAPACITY TO FUND THESE CURES. Most of you who claim the moral superiority don't seem to be marching in the street protesting the fact that the government is using your taxpayer money to kill over A HALF A MILLION INNOCENT PEOPLE IN AN ILLEGAL WAR. Where is your outrage there? Imagine how much closer we'd be to curing diseases if we had spent the HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS on the Iraq War on cures for diseases instead.

DUers, I ask simply that you spread this word before election day. Ask those you find opposing stem-cell research to think about their position carefully and consider what I have said.