defriended by a Christian for defending stem cell research

[mlittlej]

I've known this girl since middle school, and she only became a super wacky Christian after she graduated from high school and got married and moved to the south (go figure). This is a stupid Facebook argument I had with her, it's pretty amusing but also kind of depressing. It's pretty short but if you don't feel like reading the whole thing at

Comments

[enfarcer]

Someday science will produce something really useful, like a saltine that looks exactly like a communion wafer, but contains a herbal ingredient that causes ovaries and testicles to shrivel into raisins.

Somebody get PZ to work on that, stat.

[csue_n_moo]

I'm sure if that substance can be extracted from a cephalopod, he'll manage it. :>

[phyxius]

Aside from the fact that Obama specfically required that the only embryos to be used for this research are ones that would otherwise be destroyed - leftover from in vitro procedures, etc. These embryos would not become children anyway.

ugh

[caerfrli]

She says she lost a baby. That's what changed her and why she's so upset about stem cell research. She's mistaken in her opinion but you can see why she clings to religion. Perhaps she hopes to be reunited with the embryo in heaven.

[loser_anda_user]

I can just imagine that. "Oh embryo! I knew I would see you again!"

[mangy_mathan]

Embryo: "Squeeble!"

[duchessofquirk]

LMAO! Never thought someone could come up with a noise that an embryo would make. I see I've been proven wrong. *grin* That's so awful...and so friggin funny.

[cyranothe2nd]

A bit of science fact:

The only stem cells that exist in the adult body are blood cells. These severely limits the application that can come from adult stem cell lines. The only other source of stem cells that comes from a viable human come from the human umbilical cord. These cells can be manipulated into embryonic-like stem cells but only at great expense and with uncertain implications, as the cells are essentially being cloned.

Second, fetal cells differentiate after only 3-5 days. So, these are not babies we are talking about. They are less that 1 week old. They are a ball of cells, nothing more. If anything you can say they have the potential for life, not that they are precious little babies or anything like that.

[rogerdr]

This. I hate how the misunderstandings of the talking heads on TV has turned the conversation sideways. Most of what they are talking about when they say "adult stem cells" are cells that have been coaxed into acting (partially) like stem cells. There also inevitably comes up a false equivalency between these and ESCs. Never do they mention that there has been (and still needs to be) a fuckload of research just to get adult cells to be as useful as ESCs. They come, basically, two or three steps behind embryonic cells as far as research money goes, and still can't be used to clone whole colonies indefinitely. Meanwhile, we have virtually thousands of possible cell lines just waiting to be thawed out and divided. Oh, and the ubiquitous use of "destroyed" rather than "divided" really pisses me off.

[mlittlej]

Wow, I didn't even know this. Definitely valuable info.

Thanks!

[atheistkathleen]

women who want babies and have had miscarriages are real hard headed when it comes to abortion and the like

im sure she calls u an ungodly woman lol i'd take that as a compliment. but duh, u already know u exist. holier than thou ppl are so annoying!