From Don Reed, national stem cell research advocate:

The next 12 days are crucial in the stem cell research struggle.

Here's why.

Remember when President Obama signed that document removing the Bush stem
cell restrictions? That same day he called upon the National Institutes of Health to draft a new set of guidelines for scientists wanting federal
funding.

Those guidelines have just been issued. see
http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/2009draft.htm

The next 14 days are the comment period for the new guidelines for stem cell research, which American scientists will have to live with if they want federal funding. This is the public's only chance to shape those guidelines, which can be improved-or made worse.

Unfortunately, there are problems with the proposed guidelines!

Not only are the guidelines far more conservative than we had hoped, but
opponents of the research are systematically flooding the comment process.

Conservative religious bodies, have launched a national campaign to attack early stem cell research by mass emails to the NIH.

Go to this page and leave your comments. You can simply copy and paste the phrase "I support embryonic stem cell research, and am glad some of the restrictions are being loosened." There are longer boilerplates and snail mail addresses/contacts available here.

As someone who has watched and grieved as loved ones suffered and passed away from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer, there really is too much at stake to allow ourselves to be limited by anti-science and religious rhetoric.

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Chris Matthews destroys Mike Pence over his and his party's views on evolution and science. Pence thinks Matthews arguments are "weak" but he denies the existence of the knuckle-draggers in his party and basically says he wants creationism taught in schools without using the word.

Matthews: You want to educate the American people about science and its relevance today. Do you believe in evolution sir?

Pence: Um...do I believe in evolution? I embrace the, the view that god created the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that's in them.

Matthews: Right. But do you believe in evolution as the way he did it?

Pence: The means Chris that he used to do that...I can't say, but I do believe in that fundamental truth.

Matthews: Did you take biology in school? Did you take science which is all based in evolutionary belief and assumption. The reason I'm asking this is not to pick a fight. If your party wants to be credible on science you've got to accept science. Do you?

Pence: I always wanted to play in Inherit the Wind but on the global warming issue I know that in the main stream media...

Matthews: See how you're hedging? This is why people don't trust Republicans.

Pence: In the main stream media Chris there is a denial of the growing skepticism in the scientific community about global warming.

[....]

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On his Fox News show yesterday, Glenn Beck fretted about President Obama's executive order ending the federal ban on funding for certain kinds of stem-cell research:

Beck: This is what bothers me. When we are -- when we put science in front of ethics, we start having a bunch of people walking around -- especially progressive scientists -- walking around in little white coats and talking about, 'Hey, we could make the master race. Why don't we go ahead and use eugenics?' That happened in America with progressives and science, when they decided that we can make people better, and they took out all of the ethics. I mean, what's to say, when we don't attach principles and ethics to things, that this just doesn't go off the road?

Speaking of going off the road ...

Beck was using this line earlier in the day on his radio program. Think Progress has the audio:

BECK: So here you have Barack Obama going in and spending the money on embryonic stem cell research, and then some, fundamentally changing – remember, those great progressive doctors are the ones who brought us Eugenics. It was the progressive movement and it science. Let’s put science truly in her place. If evolution is right, why don’t we just help out evolution? That was the idea. And sane people agreed with it!

And it was from America. Progressive movement in America. Eugenics. In case you don’t know what Eugenics led us to: the Final Solution. A master race! A perfect person. …. The stuff that we are facing is absolutely frightening. So I guess I have to put my name on yes, I hope Barack Obama fails. But I just want his policies to fail; I want America to wake up.

As Ryan Powers at TP observes:

In reality, of course, stem-cell research has nothing to do with the search for a “master race.” Rather, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) explained this morning, “Obama’s executive order is a huge win for the millions of people who suffer from spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and many other illnesses.”

You can read more about eugenics here. Of course, it's worth remembering that in recent years, eugenics has been primarily a right wing obsession (remember The Bell Curve? Or how about the recent eugenics revival at NRO?). It's also worth remembering that even in its original incarnation -- in which progressives were indeed involved -- it was also ardently adopted by such conservatives as the Ku Klux Klan, not to mention the fact that it had a religious component as well.

Beck also appears to be confusing eugenics with genetics. The latter is a "hard" science built out of biochemistry, and ethics are indeed a constant concern for geneticists -- having learned the lessons of eugenics.

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The War on Science is finally over. Science won.

The key to Obama's executive order lifting limits on federal funding for stem-cell research, which he signed this morning:

This Order is an important step in advancing the cause of science in America. But let’s be clear: promoting science isn’t just about providing resources – it is also about protecting free and open inquiry. It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda – and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.

By doing this, we will ensure America’s continued global leadership in scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs. That is essential not only for our economic prosperity, but for the progress of all humanity.

This is part of Obama's broader vision of how government engages with science, as the WaPo's Rob Stein reported this morning. It's an approach that has drawn the approval of traditional conservatives like Nancy Reagan.

However, the religious-right nutcases will never be mollified, because apparently all human embryos are sacred vials of life that must be preserved all costs. (No word yet on what to do about that evil "periods" thing.) As Howie notes, this includes Rep. Eric Cantor.

Likewise Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, cited by MSNBC's Tamron Hall in the clip above:

I believe it is unethical to use human life, even young embryonic life, to advance science. While such research is unfortunately legal, taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for experiments that require the destruction of human life.

Rep. Jim Langerin, D-R.I., gave a succinct and powerful response to this nonsense:

Well, as a pro-life Democrat, I say, what could be more pro-life than research that would extend and improve the quality of life for millions of people who are struggling with some of life's most challenging chronic conditions and diseases. You know, why should a child who has diabetes have to endure a lifetime of painful shots and tests? Why should someone who, especially a child who may have a juvenile form of cancer, whose life may very well be cut short, not know the promise of a full and rewarding life? By supporting stem-cell research, and finding treatments and cures that may be offered, we are doing just that -- extending and improving quality of life for millions of people. And that, I say, we have a moral obligation to support.

By Patti Davis

Newsweek

Updated: 2:05 p.m. ET Aug. 26, 2004

Aug. 26 - I lost a job the other day. The people who had hired me figured out that I support stem-cell research (I don’t know what took them so long) and pulled the plug on a lecture engagement for which they had vigorously pursued...