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Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

WordPlay: McCain Ad Claims Unified Support for Stem Cell Research

Matthew C. Nisbet

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From the Associated Press:

On Friday, a McCain radio ad attempted to present McCain and Palin as a unified force behind stem cell research. In fact, McCain supports relaxing federal restrictions on financing of embryonic stem cell research, a position opposed by abortion opponents. Palin opposes embryonic stem cell research.

The ad, however, does not mention the word embryonic, making it correct on its face. Supporters and critics of using stem cells from embryos do support research using adult stem cells to help conquer some diseases.

This type of advertising sleight of hand works because, as I review in this past column, few Americans are aware of the key differences between embryonic and adult stem cell research while the recent breakthroughs in adult stem cell reprogramming likely add further confusion.

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