Back in October 2004, Vice Presidential Aspirant and Candidate John Edwards in Newton, IA said

[Reeve, who died Sunday], “was a powerful voice for the need to do stem cell research and change the lives of people like him.

“If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.”

CNN

Once again Stem Cell Research and Therapy is being conflated with Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

My daughter has epilepsy, developmental delays, and has recently been diagnosed with Lupus as well. Stem cell research may one day prove a benefit to her. Adult or cord blood stem cells.

The Anchoress notes that there are 72 successful applications with adult stem cell therapies and 0 embryonic therapies.

There are NO bans on stem cell research of any stripe. Federal (and only Federal) funding of embryonic stem cell research is currently limited to existing stem cell lines. There is nothing to prevent private funding of new lines. Nothing other than success rates in embryonic stem cell research. Private funding brings with it hopes of a return on investment. Federal funding needs no such guarantees.

Appeal to Sympathy is a logical fallacy no matter who the sympathetic figure is.

Via Dave Barry’s Blog comes this Google Maps picture from Canada.