Speaker's Bureau Sample - Stem Cell Research

Star Entertainment Worldwide has a complete group of qualified and talented speakers in its Speaker’s Bureau. Great for any audience of any size, they are all eminently qualified and regionally or nationally known in their respective fields. Below is an excerpt taken from a position paper developed by one of these speakers. It is a sample of the type of public policy address that is available from the Speaker’s Bureau.

Doug Kramer, MHA,
Diplomat, ACHA
25 Years Experience in Health Administration
Management and Policy Development

Stem Cell Research

The inauguration of a new President brings a host of new policy decisions which will affect the course of medical research and medical care for the years to come. One of the most controversial is the subject of stem cell research.

Misconceptions:

Many of the misunderstandings of the status of stem cell research come from inaccuracies or in some instances direct and intentional misrepresentations, reported in the media. For example, stem cell research is not banned in the U. S., rather until now there is no federal funding for it. Other countries have moved forward with the research funded by respective governments, but there is every reason to believe that U. S. research will now blossom once the new administration inevitably modifies the federal position. Another great misconception is that stem cell research is a panacea, that many afflicted people have died as a result of failures to promote research. The truth is that there are no warranties concerning products or procedures that medical science may develop decades from now which could have benefit.

Pitfalls:

Not if, but when the new administration grapples with policy review concerning stem cell research, it will find a serious dichotomy of opinion on at least two major subjects that accompany any consideration of advanced work in the field. The first of these is abortion, or at least the definition of when life begins. Obviously this question has haunted politicians for decades; even far in advance of the Rowe v. Wade Supreme Court decision; and history tell us that no politician on either side of the question has ever been successful in taking a position on this subject. Once this gargantuan fence has been leaped, the next major stumbling block will be concern over cloning. While most legitimate governments and scientific experts have outlawed the cloning of humans, indeed some have outlawed the cloning of animals, there are still those countries that allow research in the name of advances in “medical science.” There is so much variability in opinion, religious dogma, law and codes of ethics throughout this country that the young administration could land anywhere along the continuum and still face adversaries from every direction – labeled as too liberal or too conservative for “science” to survive.


The Future:

In his inaugural address President Obama indicated that he wanted science to “take its rightful place” again. While certainly not definitive, this statement has been widely interpreted to include an ideological shift in federal funding to include Stem Cell research among a vast array of other projects upon which “science” may have future impact. The pot of funding and the time available to address regulation which must accompany release of funds is clearly not unlimited, given the current financial crisis which faces the world and pressing priorities in energy, transportation, infrastructure and security – just to name a few major policy reviews that the new administration must undertake at great expense of time and money. It is likely, certainly inevitable that the research will commence with the blessings of the federal government and the extensive grants to follow. A clear, rational position must be established prior to the blanket lifting of bans. It will need inclusion of the opinions of religious, philosophical, legal, and scientific scholars, but unanimous agreement is highly unlikely, leaving some large and necessary decisions to politicians and agents of the Obama administration. The political desire of inclusion and consensus cannot be achieved in light of the diversity of opinion and one side will be alienated and disenfranchised. We can expect the Obama administration to move to a centrist position regarding Stem Cell research.