Yay for Congress

I generally try to avoid politics. As a liberal in America, caring about what is happening only leads to a profound and deep rage. I used to know every detail of politics and policy. Now, for my own mental health, I keep only a general watch of what's going on. This comes mainly from NPR; I catch All Things Considered about 3 or 4 times a week. That with the CNN headlines is my news fix.

But shockingly, I need to applaud the Congress. I know, I know. Don't worry - I haven't turned into a crazy radical right winger. I'm pleased at them for passing the stem cell bill despite Bush's threatened veto.

Now, I'm all for the embryo donation programs (couples get frozen embryos from other couples who won't use them). I think it's great, and if embryos from the eggs I donated went toward that, I'd be pleased. I'd be equally happy (maybe happier), though, to have them be donated to into the stem cell lines for research. If that were to happen, I would be helping a lot more people.

Perhaps Bush has been mercifully spared knowledge of the world of fertility treatments. Perhaps he doesn't realize that there are a lot of embryos out there, all waiting to be used that would otherwise be destroyed. Or, more realistically, his religious beliefs have him so committed to ignoring laws and science that he doesn't care.

In any case, I think it is fantastic that we will come back fro the scary no-federal-funding place and start using these leftover embryos for research that can truly revolutionize medicine. It makes me happy to see congress stand up to the President (and to see some logic from the Republicans), both as a scientist and as an egg donor.