I'm not very political and I usually don't get involved in controversial issues but this is different. My family believes in stem cell research as it offers a chance and hope for a cure for many devostating diseases.
My family could greatly benefit from stem cell research:
- My son is Type 1 Diabetic. He is faced with a life most of us don't understand. Children on shots living into their sixties will have close to 75,000 shots in their lifetime. Think about this, 75,000 shots in their lifetime. I use this example simply because this is something us non-diabetic people could identify with or attempt to grasp. But reality is diabetes is much more then shots. He is faced with a future of debilitating issues that I as his mother can't bring myself to fully internalize. Diabetes on numerous levels sucks and I want it gone. Stem cell research provides a hope for a cure.
- My family has been directly impacted by cancer, deeply. My mother died when she was only 35 years old of breast cancer. I was 12 years old at the time and an only child. It was a lonely horrible time in my life. I was at high-risk for both breast and ovarian cancer myself due to hereditary predispositions. There are numerous other cases of cancer both in my family and my husbands family. Stem cell research provides a hope for a cure so other children don't have to experience a loss of a parent to cancer.
I know that when we hear the words stem cell, the first things that pop into peoples minds are embryonic stem cells and human cloning issues. Important issues but what do you really know about those topics? Is that all there is about stem cell research? It has been my experience that those that don't agree with stem cell research really don't know much about it. If you fall into this category (and that's ok if you do) all I'm asking is that you open minded and do some research on the subject. Don't just say you are against something if you haven't educated yourself on the topic. And, don't just let others tell you what you should believe - no matter who they are. I challenge you to read up on the initiative and Amendment 2 in Missouri. Educate yourself to what is really going on. Understand it. Take the information you have learned to the sources that disagree with it and discuss it further. Get all sides of the issue. I challenge and ask you to then and only then to make an informed decision on your position on stem cell research.
To help get you started on your research, check out The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. This is a great site with a lot of useful information about the subject. The site also contains links to additional sites with even more information - the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is one of those sites. Use this information. Take the time to learn about it. You owe it to yourself and to others to make an informed decision.
That's enough of that for now. I've got to go because I"m in the process of doing my research. Afterall I need to be able to speak intelligently to others about the issue to those who ask questions or state inaccurate facts. Education is the power we have. No matter what your final decision - that's what it's all about!
