Once again President Bush is allowing his fundamentalist beliefs to cause irreparable harm to the American economy. This time it is his threat to veto legislation that would allow federal funding for expanded Stem Cell research. Does he believe that the US position will stop the research from taking place elsewhere in the world? The fact is that Europe and Asia are already deep into Stem Cell research. Stopping the research in the USA will only promote foreign companies to be the leaders in new, potentially life saving or life improving, products which may be developed.
If Mr. Bush’s narrow minded fundamentalism is carried to its ultimate conclusion, procedures and product developed overseas would not be permitted into the USA because it violates his religious principles to use products developed from Stem Cells. How many Americans will die young or live lives of agony because a narrowly defined fundamentalist religion is becoming the guiding light of all decisions? How can we let Mr. Bush guarantee the slow death our great pharmaceutical industry because he doesn’t believe in the most promising areas of research?
Mr. Bush needs to be reminded that religion’s opposition to “…lending at usury…,” meaning any type of interest, stymied European economic growth throughout the middle ages. Our President’s myopic view of the bible will exacerbate America’s, already beginning, decline to second or third world status.