sidewalker123 said:
Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but why exactly did Christopher Reeves die?
Does becoming crippled lower your life expectancy?
Christopher Reeve died of an upper respiratory problem which stemmed from an infection in a bedsore. Paralysis does lower life expectancy for several reasons... lack of motion leads to atrophy of tissues; the "dead weight" of non-working muscles and tissues pulls and causes stress on systems which still function; the body is less able to fight off diseases and infection because so much energy is spent in survival; and often times there are residual problems from a paralyzing injury which can compound issues.
And I'm glad CA passed the initiative for sten cell research, too.
OK, so why is Stephen Hawking still alive and well?
How is his condition different ?
He hasn't gotten a fatal infection from a bedsore yet...?
Baka_Amerikanjin said:
Actually, like I said before, the embryos that would be used to extract stem cells have never been implanted in a uterus. They are overstock from fertility clinics. So, they were never aborted. The abortion argument is moot. Other than that, I totally agree with your post.
Well, most people define abortion as the termination of a potential post-birth human (to use caustic and completely objective terms). Since any embryo-- implanted in a uterus or not--has complete potential to be a post-birth human, the destruction of such cells is, according to the above definition, an abortion. The case isn't about the woman and her right to her uterus anymore. It's about doctors creating humans and destroying them. The argument is certainly not moot.
Aaron
Shakopee, MN
July 2004
NOV 30, 2004 02:53 AM