Somebody tell Dave Volk it's now a moot point, the moral debate can be side-stepped

Richard A. Berreth of White, South Dakota wrote an important letter to the editor in the Argus Leader yesterday:

I was surprised by the Oct. 19 Argus Leader headline stating that David Volk was starting a petition drive to eliminate the ban on embryonic stem cell research in South Dakota. The Argus Leader and Volk are both sadly misinformed. You don't need embryonic stem cells to create the human cells you need. The University of Wisconsin already is doing it. Page 15 of the university's summer 2009 On Wisconsin alumni magazine states: "Just in time for Valentine's Day, two Wisconsin scientists produced pulsating proof of an advance in stem-cell research.

"Jianhua Zhang and Tim Kamp, of the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, showed that pluripotent stem cells (PS), made from skin cells, could be induced to grow into working heart-muscle cells.

"The finding helps sidestep the moral debate over using stem cells made from human embryos. These PS cells begin their scientific odyssey as skin cells, are genetically reprogrammed back to their original state, and then are transformed again into heart cells. The achievement heralds a day when scientists can mend broken hearts by growing repair cells from skin."

The whole issue of embryonic stem cell research is a ploy by the abortion industry to create a market for their "waste products."

Berreth is right, this is not about finding lifesaving cures. We can't count on the old media to keep this important fact before the public - the very same people who gave us South Dakotans for (Un)Healthy Families are behind the equally deceptive South Dakotans for LIfesaving Cures.