At the top of Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen incorrectly declared: "Reversing course. President Obama lifts the ban on embryonic stem cell research today...But is the President going far enough?" During the later segment, co-host Maggie Rodriguez had to offer a correction: "And we should say, this under President Bush was not banned or illegal, except now we're getting federal funding."
The segment began with a report by correspondent Bill Plante: "...for those who believe that stem cells bring healing, there's no debate...Henry Strongin-Goldberg was sick with a rare blood disease that took his life when he was just 7...Henry's parents, Laurie Strongin and Allen Goldberg, believe their son's chance of survival ended when President George W. Bush signed an executive order in August, 2001 banning the federal government from funding embryonic stem cell research." Plante’s over 300-word report only gave only 21 of those words to critics, allowing David Prentice of the Family Research Council to mention: "In terms of scientific advances, I don't think we're going to see anything from this. This is more an ideological move."
Following Plante’s report, Rodriguez spoke with CBS News contributor Dr. Holly Phillips about the President’s decision: "In what kinds of diseases or ailments, specifically, do you think we may see advancements?" Phillips replied: "People are most excited about the neurologic illnesses, things like Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's...hopefully cure spinal cell injuries...hope in treating diabetes, heart disease, and even stroke. So really millions of people could be -- could be affected by this research." Phillips left out a recent case of embryonic stem cells causing cancer in an Israeli teenage boy.
Earlier, Phillips argued: "...what President Obama is saying, is that we need to support our scientists. Many of the scientists for the last eight years have been complaining that they're spending more time trying to find funding for their research than actually doing their research. So for them this will really have a profound effect." Rodriguez later echoed that sentiment: "I wonder if we'll see progress more quickly now that these scientists have less red tape to work through." Phillips replied: "I think so. And certainly the scientific and medical community is thinking so as well. Certainly on an international level, in medicine, we're so excited about this research and the potential for healing that it has. So I think less red tape will have a profound effect."
Here is the full transcript of the segment:
7:00AM TEASE:
JULIE CHEN: Reversing course. President Obama lifts the ban on embryonic stem cell research today.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This is something huge. This is going to affect lives.
CHEN: But is the President going far enough?
7:02AM SEGMENT:
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: But first, President Obama's plans to undo another Bush policy, and this one is stirring up a lot of controversy. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante joins us with that. Good morning, Bill.
BILL PLANTE: Morning, Maggie. The stem cell issue has deep moral and political implications. It's the first issue of that kind that President Obama has undertaken. The order that he will sign today is a kind of compromise. It allows scientists to use tax dollars to study existing stem cell lines beyond those approved by President Bush back in 2001. But it leaves to Congress the fraught question of whether new stem cell lines can be created with tax dollars. But for those who believe that stem cells bring healing, there's no debate.
LAURIE STRONGIN: He didn't ever think of himself as being sick, and we didn't treat him like he was sick.
PLANTE: But Henry Strongin-Goldberg was sick with a rare blood disease that took his life when he was just 7.
ALLEN GOLDBERG: To have your child die before you do is devastating beyond words.
PLANTE: Henry's parents, Laurie Strongin and Allen Goldberg, believe their son's chance of survival ended when President George W. Bush signed an executive order in August, 2001 banning the federal government from funding embryonic stem cell research. The controversy? The embryos are destroyed when harvested, and opponents equate that to the destruction of human life.
DAVID PRENTICE [FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL]: In terms of scientific advances, I don't think we're going to see anything from this. This is more an ideological move.
PLANTE: Today's change of policy is something that Lori and Allen have been advocating for years, so that other parents don't have to go through what they did.
STRONGIN: And it is too late for us to have -- to help Henry, obviously, at this point, but it is not too late for us to stand up by the President's side and applaud this incredibly wonderful thing.
PLANTE: And they'll have a chance to do that today. Lori and Allen will be here at the White House when President Obama signs that executive order later today. As for the research itself, that will take some time. There will be at least four months before protocols can be approved and guidelines written, and research can get under way. Maggie.
RODRIGUEZ: Bill Plante at the White House, thank you, Bill. Joining us now, Early Show contributor and WBS-TV medical reporter Dr. Holly Phillips. Good morning, Holly.
HOLLY PHILLIPS: Good morning, Maggie.
RODRIGUEZ: For people who have any doubt, explain in a nutshell what is embryonic stem cell research?
PHILLIPS: Essentially it's using cells from an embryo to hopefully regrow cells damaged in certain diseases.
RODRIGUEZ: And we should say, this under President Bush was not banned or illegal, except now we're getting federal funding.
PHILLIPS: Right. That's really an essential issue that we have to clear up. This research was never, as you said, banned or illegal. The question that we're addressing today is what role, if any, federal funding should have is using -- in this research.
RODRIGUEZ: What do you think?
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, it's not really so much what I think, it's more that what President Obama is saying, is that we need to support our scientists. Many of the scientists for the last eight years have been complaining that they're spending more time trying to find funding for their research than actually doing their research. So for them this will really have a profound effect.
RODRIGUEZ: In what kinds of diseases or ailments, specifically, do you think we may see advancements?
PHILLIPS: People are most excited about the neurologic illnesses, things like Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's. This summer a private research group out of California is actually going to start using embryonic stem cells in humans to hopefully cure spinal cell injuries for people who've been paralyzed from the waist down. We're also seeing some hope in treating diabetes, heart disease, and even stroke. So really millions of people could be -- could be affected by this research.
RODRIGUEZ: I wonder if we'll see progress more quickly now that these scientists have less red tape to work through.
PHILLIPS: I think so. And certainly the scientific and medical community is thinking so as well. Certainly on an international level, in medicine, we're so excited about this research and the potential for healing that it has. So I think less red tape will have a profound effect.
RODRIGUEZ: Alright. Dr. Holly Phillips, welcome back from maternity leave.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Maggie.
RODRIGUEZ: Showing off pictures of Olivia, who's beautiful.
PHILLIPS: Very exciting.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.





PLANTE: But Henry Strongin-Goldberg was sick with a rare blood disease that took his life when he was just 7. 














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Comments Policy
If the use of embryonic stem cells was such a good
March 9, 2009 - 11:22 ET by thebutlerdiditthing, then why hasn't the scientists used the free market and gotten financing? Why haven't we heard of any big break throughs, only a few failures? if they were so great, then people would have been throwing money at researchers.
All a Democrat needs is the upper-story window of public attention and the chamber pot of rhetoric. How else to explain the rise of Joe Biden? P.J. O' Rourke
Whereas there are 72
March 9, 2009 - 20:48 ET by GrannyGrump42Whereas there are 72 available treatments using ADULT stem cells.
Why are the libs so obsessed with offering cruel hype instead of real cures?
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm
If the use of embryonic stem cells was such a good
March 9, 2009 - 11:24 ET by thebutlerdiditthing, then why hasn't the scientists used the free market and gotten financing? Why haven't we heard of any big break throughs, only a few failures? If they were so great, then people would have been throwing money at researchers.
All a Democrat needs is the upper-story window of public attention and the chamber pot of rhetoric. How else to explain the rise of Joe Biden? P.J. O' Rourke
Embryonic Stem Cells
March 9, 2009 - 11:30 ET by merlin61So far, only adult stem cells have proven useful.
The scientists are completely in denial over this.
What is the rush to use embryonic stem cells?
Obama is in a rush to bring this country down,
down, down. God please help us all!!!! Pray,
pray, pray.
It is merely a boon to the
March 9, 2009 - 12:14 ET by MrSnugglesIt is merely a boon to the abortion industry. Without them, there wouldn't be any embryos to "study".
Merlin..."What is the rush
March 9, 2009 - 16:33 ET by celatorMerlin..."What is the rush to use embryonic stem cells?"
The rush comes from researchers and universities who seek federal grants to play with. They cannot wait to create embryo farms to experiment with, try various different types of cloning (they will do it regardless of what Obama has said), create trans-hybrid human cells with mice and rats, rabbits, skunks, Lord knows what else.
The Government cannot give to anybody anything which the government does not first take from somebody else. Dr. Adrian Rogers
I'll say it again
March 9, 2009 - 11:45 ET by SouthJersey1953I hate the fact that they want to kill little balies for this research. A basic question needs to be asked.
If embryonic stems cell research was "SO" promising, the private sector would be heavily investing in it. Just the fact that they don't, makes me skeptical of the chances of anything working.
Besides the obvious point that they would be killing babies, it most likely won't work anyway so do NOT spend MY money on it.
Follow the money: You can
March 9, 2009 - 20:50 ET by GrannyGrump42Follow the money: You can PATENT treatment with embryonic stem cells. You can't patent -- and thus, can't make as much money from -- ADULT stem cell treatments.
It's the money grubbing people who have the army of useful idiots trying to get government financing for their Dr. Frankenstein research.
John Edwards and White Collar Welfare
March 9, 2009 - 11:57 ET by deerjerkydaveRemember how John Edwards promised that people would get out of their wheel chairs and walk? I guess somehow taxpayer dollars will discover something new which private funding has not?
Government funding of embryonic stem cells is nothing more than welfare for white collar doctors. The private sector has already researched the possibilities of embryonic stem cells and has found that the potentials of it are minimal, expensive, and controversial. Consequently the private sector has dropped funding on the research and has focused its attentions on adult stem cells which are much more promising, would be a fraction of the price, and avoids the ethical concerns of human cloning and embryonic destruction. Having lost their funding, doctors studying embryonic stem cells have turned to state and federal welfare for their research.
Here in California the state passed funding for embryonic stem cell research a few years ago. So far it has yielded the same results under private funding, NOTHING.
I recognize that medical research can take years to develop. But these "news" items by CBS and their liberal political friends frequently paint a picture that the moment government welfare begins on embryonic stem cell research that miracle cures will begin to pop up. I'm sorry, but a 7 year old boy who is about to die is not going to get a miracle cure any time soon.
Repercussions
March 9, 2009 - 12:07 ET by cloudnineMaybe Obama wants to clone himself so that we can all worship him forever.
RODRIGUEZ: Alright. Dr.
March 9, 2009 - 12:04 ET by Massage_Master07RODRIGUEZ: Alright. Dr. Holly Phillips, welcome back from maternity leave.
Isn't THAT ironic as all hell? A so called "Dr.", that just got back from having a baby and maternity leave, ADVOCATING the destruction of embryos, all in the name of "research". Well "Dr.", since you ovbiously are of liberal bent, then WHY did you have YOUR baby, instead of sacrificing your unborn child for the greater good of humanity? Freakin' hypocrits.
Didn't I hear just a couple of weeks or maybe a month or so ago that they all but CURED a man of Parkinsons Disease using ADULT stem cells? WHY must they use destroyed fetuses when there has been no sign of them working AT ALL,instead of adult, which obviously works, IF the story is true?
These liberals are freaks of nature and are mental midgets, wanting to destroy their OWN and everyone else's child(ren). I thought that we used to call these people homocidal maniacs for thinking and acting this way, and for good reasons? I guess they'll use ANY excuse that they can think of to achieve this singular goal of the destruction of American children.
Mankind is the ONLY species on the face of the planet in which the mother will kill their own child intentionally. All because it's an inconveniance. This MURDER of unborn children, whether it's abortion or "research", is one of the major sources of rot and decay in today's society. And these self same "enlightened" people wonder why and how people can act the way they do to each other.
Gotta go now cuz I'm too pissed off about this at the moment and I'm afraid that I'll say something that'll either get me in trouble or booted from this site. Talk to you all later.
Didn't I hear just a
March 9, 2009 - 15:37 ET by dmntd1I don't know about that, but I DO know that my sister was either placed into remission, or potentially cured (not considered cured until 5 yrs have passed) her Leukemia using ADULT stem cells. I seem to recall hearing that they need the donor to be around the same age as the recipient because, **SHOCK** stem cells differ with age. Embryonic stem cells would, therefore, be potentially very useful to cure embryos and newborns. To that end, however, the most useful stem cells would be found in the cord-blood of the newborn, as they are the newborns own stem cells.
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy." - Winston Churchill
My sister's cancer is in
March 9, 2009 - 20:52 ET by GrannyGrump42My sister's cancer is in remission, too, thanks to ADULT stem cell treatments.
One of just 72 treatments available:
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm
Even when BHO is talking about non-financial matters....
March 9, 2009 - 12:37 ET by Prester John...(like stem cells) the market goes down (- 60+ at 1:30 EDT).
Will someone please tell him to shut up!!
Not too surprised
March 9, 2009 - 12:40 ET by BarkerThis from a man who has no qualms about killing babies even after they're born.
Remember: Obama doesn't want to be "punished" with a baby; Obama wants to punish the baby.
"Is the Preznint going far
March 9, 2009 - 13:23 ET by SickofLibs"Is the Preznint going far enough?"
No Rodriguez, of course he's not. He should make it a federal mandate that expectant mothers about to abort must report to the nearest research lab and have 'the procedure' done there instead of wasting time and resources going to an abortion clinic and then transporting the fetuses all over the place.
(And does Rodriguez see nothing weird about welcoming Dr. Philips back from maternity leave?)
Don't stop there, SickofLibs...
March 9, 2009 - 13:39 ET by dborschjr68..let's take this to its logical conclusion.
We should also establish not just some solid Federally funded abortion mills, but also some to cover the elderly for some good old-fashioned euthanasia, once they have served their purposes in life. (Hey, ya had a good run. Um, now we gotta kill ya, nothing personal.)
Oh, and also a clinic for people who have mental or physical handicaps, because let's face it, what good are they to an enlightened society, am I right? (Finally we can get over this whole catering to the handicapped, what with their stupid 'access ramps' and other nuisances to those of us who are genetically perfect.)
Oh, and I almost forgot, eventually we can establish a clinic for those pesky minorities, what with their rampant baby-making and all. (Look, you're not really an American, and we need to keep America pure, understand?)
And of course, lest I forget, we should definitely establish a clinic for all the death-row inmates who will never see the light of freedom again. Think of all the money we could save! (Why the hell should I pay for you to live? You're a disgusting criminal, so head on over there to those new showers we set up, will ya.)
Eventually we will have refined our enlightened society and rid ourselves of all the unworthy members thereof. Then, and only then, will we succeed as a great nation. So we spill a little blood, no biggie. Look at the awesomeness we will have created. Heil Obama, bit*hes.
F**K Socialism.
Excellent point on the death
March 9, 2009 - 15:26 ET by SickofLibsExcellent point on the death row thing, DB.
It's OK to waste millions on resources for endless appeals for obvious murderers that span decades, but DON'T YOU DARE EVEN OFFER an ultrasound to an abortion clinic 'customer', because there may be a slight possibility she won't go thru with the blessed sacrament.
But if we 'terminated' or locked up all the mentally handicapped, where would get our news from?
Oh, SickofLibs...
March 9, 2009 - 16:14 ET by dborschjr68"But if we 'terminated' or locked up all the mentally handicapped, where would get our news from?"
---------------------------------------
Thank you, thank you so much for this nice zinger today, which has brought a bit o' levity to this otherwise dismal day!
However, shame on you for comparing those who are mentally handicapped to those of the MSM. You surely insulted the mentally handicapped there.
I simply wanted to take it to the next level, so to speak. I mean, once we start relishing in the fact that the unborn are essentially insignificant, who's to say it wouldn't grow to eventually affect other groups of citizens?
Now, before any liberals decry this observation as alarmist or fear-mongering, may I remind you that when Hitler started, he was viewed as a charismatic, well-spoken, galvanizing, and a uniting figure for a troubled Germany. And we all know how that little fantasy ended. How many deaths in the name of a 'better society' do you think he helped to happen?
It will start with abortion and end in a genocide of some group, all for the good of the society. And no one will blink an eye.
F**K Socialism.
March 9, 2009 - 13:40 ET by dborschjr68Ignorance
March 9, 2009 - 13:27 ET by iveseenitallJulie Chen--another hate-filled, biased ignoramus in the newsroom. Afirmative Action in action!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Strawmen embryo research.
March 9, 2009 - 14:01 ET by sevenObama wants to support scientists sounds like they are saying president bush did not.
wonder if these 2 hags on the tube kniow that abortion causes great increase in breast cancer? Wonder if that fact is recognized in obama's support for excalating abortions? Wonder if oBama will invest in women's health and fund breast cancer abortion links?
You mean oBama doesn't really care about women's health? How many will die from his old fashioned fight against science?
This is a money laundering scheme
March 9, 2009 - 14:12 ET by cocodrieWhat harm is there in murdering thousands of babies to funnel government money to the abortion industry?
Jesus Loves You
cocodrie...
March 9, 2009 - 15:14 ET by dborschjr68Indeed, what harm is there? I guess you and I need to get with the program and open up our minds to the new enlightened way of thinking, the progressive way of thinking. How silly we must feel being so archaic-minded and old-fashioned as to seek to repress and restrict a woman's "right to choose", and to also stand opposed to the steady progress of true science.
Our limited intellect and our outdated morality is only hindering the dawn of this new government, and we should be ashamed of not blindly falling into line and offering instead our fidelity and loyalty to this great "president" and his awesome new ideals that so eclipse our own.
I look at my now pregnant wife and must now apologize to the "president" in that I didn't order her, or kindly suggest to her, that she offer up our baby girl to the Obama miracle science machine of progressive and enlightened rationale. I do hope the liberals will forgive me for this societal faux-pas. I am so sorry for not supporting my new "president" wholeheartedly.
F**K Socialism.
Brown Shirts
March 9, 2009 - 14:41 ET by iveseenitallNothing like "experimenting" with human beings and having government funds and support to do it. After all, it's for a "good cause". Next thing you know, they'll be punishing doctors who refuse to perform abortions...Oh, wait a minute, didn't I see a report...
Cry of the new Brown Shirts-- " We're baaack! "
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
What's With ALL the FLAGS?
March 9, 2009 - 15:16 ET by DelsaCBS with a set make-over?
The Brown Shirts of tomorrow are
March 9, 2009 - 15:17 ET by DelsaIn sixth grade today!
Yikes! Well, that settles
March 9, 2009 - 15:26 ET by dborschjr68Yikes! Well, that settles it. I'm going to go to my local grade schools and donate several hundred "We Love Rush Limbaugh" t-shirts, at once!
Let's see Obama top that one.
F**K Socialism.