Wrong again

Why must everyone opposed to stem cell research on religious grounds dredge up the "evolution = eugenics" canard? It's wrong, and makes them sound like manipulative idiots. Eugenics is not part of the "agenda" for non-theists, nor is genocide, murder, or any of the other things that the right-wing talking heads like to spout off about. The eugenics movement was a tragic misuse of the ideas behind genetics -- an idea, by the way, that was supported wholeheartedly by many churches in America (most notably Methodists, who are going to apologize for it) and preached from the pulpit, so let's not pin the entire sordid affair on the "Evil Atheists", shall we?

Almost as bad as the gentleman braying that stem cell research is "killing bay-bees! Killing them!' as if researchers were out poaching them from daycare playgrounds and leaving behind a exsanguinated corpse. Wrong and stupid and misleading, and intended to rile up the people who don't know anything about science or research or stem cells. Oh, but it makes a great sound-bite, I guess.

Science is not evil or good. Evolution is not evil or good, just like gravity is neither evil nor good. There is no moral weight on either side -- it's the use of these ideas that can be applied for good or for evil. Religion is the same way - it can be used for good or evil, depending on who is wielding the righteous sword.

It's getting tiring having to continually point that out.

My father has advanced Parkinsons. Stem cell research probably won't make enough advances to help him, but it might save someone else from having that slow, downward slide.