Bush nel 2016

«George W Bush to undergo stem cell therapy», The Stem Cell, 14 agosto 2007:

August 9, 2016 – Christopher Thomas Scott, London Correspondent, World Press International.
British authorities, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, greeted a gravely ill George W. Bush, aged 70, as he arrived on a hospital gurney to a subdued gathering at Heathrow International Airport. Bush suffers from Guillain-Barré (ghee-yan bah-ray) Syndrome (GBS), an immune system disorder that mercilessly attacks the body’s nervous system. In its severe form, it causes paralysis of the legs, arms, breathing muscles and face. GBS affects thousands of Americans every year. In acute cases such as Mr. Bush’s, the pulmonary complications can be deadly.
Bush’s sickness came on suddenly after suffering a bout of flu at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. As his condition worsened, family members consulted with specialists at Washington’s newly rebuilt Walter Reed Medical Center. Within hours, he was rushed to London on a specially equipped plane staffed with medical personnel. He entered the prestigious King’s College Stem Cell Therapy Institute, where treatments for autoimmune diseases such as type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and GBS show great promise. […]
Bush’s treatment is becoming standard care for Europeans but is virtually unknown in America. Clinicians will begin by using a technique called nuclear transfer – also known as therapeutic cloning. Using a very fine glass needle, the nucleus – containing genetic material or DNA – is gently suctioned from a skin cell donated by Bush’s daughter, Jenna. The nucleus is transferred into a human egg stripped of its DNA. A small pulse of electricity prompts the egg to divide. After a few days, a clump of cells from the inside of the egg are removed and put into a plastic dish where they begin to multiply, forming an immortal line of embryonic stem cells.
The cells made from his daughter’s DNA, while not genetically identical, must be used because the elder Bush’s cells are defective. Doctors first will attempt to fix his faulty immune system by replacing his rampaging white blood cells with healthy, specialized stem cells made from the “Jenna line.” The procedure involves a mild dose of chemotherapy and drugs to prevent rejection of the new cells. Once he has stabilized, a different chemical cocktail will induce the embryonic line to produce a fresh supply of neural stem cells. They will be injected into his brain to replace motor neurons damaged by the disease. Drugs discovered using the outlawed chimeric mice will stabilize Bush while he recovers. Thanks to the new technologies, thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune disease now lead vastly improved lives.
News of Bush’s sickness and treatment sent shock waves through Washington. Religious conservative Pat Robertson, the keynote speaker at a Tennessee conference for geologists studying intelligent design, called for Bush’s immediate imprisonment upon his return to Texas. […]
Meanwhile, Congress called a special session to discuss the issue of a pardon for the former president. When asked after considering Bush’s grave condition if the cloning act ought to be amended to allow therapies using embryonic stem cells, Senate Majority leader Brownback said, “No.” “God is punishing him for the sins he committed during college. His family can be forgiven for trying to make him well. But we must think of all the cloned human beings – the walking, talking embryos reaching out to us with their little hands – that were murdered as a result of this therapy. We must respect their lives more than the life of suffering humans, even humans that are former American presidents. I wish him good luck during his long convalescence in England.”

È fin troppo ovvio che qualcosa del genere, prima o poi, accadrà: se non con George W. Bush, sicuramente con qualche altro avversario della ricerca sulle staminali embrionali.
Sarebbe forse il caso di cominciare a fare l’elenco di quanti in Italia si sono opposti e si oppongono allo sviluppo di queste terapie: uomini politici, uomini di Chiesa, giornalisti, opinionisti, etc., e di vigilare perché in futuro siano posti in fondo alle liste di attesa per i trattamenti corrispondenti. Ma con un’altra facile profezia si può già ora essere certi che molti di loro si troveranno piuttosto in cima a quelle liste...