Straw Stems

It was Old Stagers' Big Day Out at PMQs today, with Jack Straw, Bob Ainsworth and Michael Meacher all getting a word in. But further to Straw's question, why would anyone want to patent anything to do with embryonic stem-cell "research"? Except, of course, to secure limitless funding from governments and others who could not care less about little details such as efficacy.

The term "stem-cell research" is persistently used to mean scientifically worthless but morally abhorrent playing about with embryonic stem cells, together with the viciously cruel justification of this by reference to an ever-longer list of medical conditions.

The real stem-cell research involves adult and cord blood stem cells, is ethically unproblematic, and has already yielded real results. But it struggles to secure funding, because it is of no interest to those who cannot forgive the Catholic Church either for having educated them or for having educated the wrong sort.