Ben Carson: No apologies for 1992 fetal tissue research

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

Ben Carson defended the use of fetal tissue for medical research Thursday, after a blog published excerpts of a 1992 paper describing work the neurosurgeon-turned-presidential candidate carried out using aborted fetuses. In an interview with the Washington Post, Carson called the revelation "desperate," and ignorant of the way medical research was carried out.

"You have to look at the intent," Carson said before beginning a campaign swing through New Hampshire. "To willfully ignore evidence that you have for some ideological reason is wrong. If you’re killing babies and taking the tissue, that’s a very different thing than taking a dead specimen and keeping a record of it."

Carson, who has risen in primary polls since last week's debate, is among the Republicans who've condemned Planned Parenthood after undercover videos revealed executives in the organization coldly discussing the extraction and distribution of tissue from aborted fetuses. In a July interview on Fox News, after the first videos broke, Carson said that there was “nothing that can’t be done without fetal tissue" and that babies aborted at 17 weeks were clearly human beings.

That inspired Dr. Jen Gunter to excavate a 1992 paper, co-authored by Carson, in which doctors described how they applied "human choroid plexus ependyma and nasal mucosa from two fetuses aborted in the ninth and 17th week of gestation." That, wrote Gunter, was quite the contrast from Carson's 2015 denunciation of fetal tissue research.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/13/ben-carson-no-apologies-for-1992-fetal-tissue-research/

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The hypocrisy, it burns

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

1. In fairness, Carson said he did this research before his infamous self-lobotomy

which caused him to go nuts and start saying crazy shit like comparing gays to NAMBLA.

[RobinA]

8. I'd Like To Know

what happened to this guy. I read a book by him about neurosurgery quite some time ago and he was totally the doctor scientist. Suddenly he crops up a couple years ago as a wingnut. WTH?

[LordshipLadyship]

17. you owe me

An iced mocha latte. . I laughed so hard I spit most of it out

[awoke_in_2003]

27. Thanks to South Park

I can't see that acronym without thinking National Association of Marlon Brando Look Alikes.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Carson was playing around with "aborted baby parts"? The horror, the horror....Republicans trapped

in their own web of lies is always delightful.

When Fundie Disease invades your brain, massive hypocrisy is a known side effect.

[Roland99]

3. Equivocating asshat

[turbo_satan]

4. Somebody help me understand his explanation

For the life of me, I can't decode his justification for why his use of fetal tissue was acceptable and why he doesn't think it was wrong. I'm not being sarcastic; I genuinely don't understand what he's saying.

[Xipe Totec]

12. It's pretty straight forward. You see...

Squirrel!!!!

[ehrnst]

32. It's OK for him to use it for research, because "it's dead."

But it's not OK for anyone to actually provide researchers like him with the dead parts.

See?

[SoapBox]

5. It's ok for them...but not ok for us.

PukeBaggers will shrug it off, with some lame excuse...it was Obama's fault.

[progressoid]

6. Heh. This just got interesting.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. "You have to look at the intent," Carson said....

Last edited Thu Aug 13, 2015, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Credit for that: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, maybe.

[Kelvin Mace]

9. Well, Doctor...

could you point out where you address "intent" in your blanket ban of abortion and the use of fetal tissue in research?

[ehrnst]

33. Using fetal tissue for research - Good. Providing it to the researcher - IMMORAL!!!

[KentuckyWoman]

34. More like "you have to look at the buttload of money I made"

Another economic predator in the Republican party. Gee I'm shocked.

[Herman4747]

10. How do you spell "hypocrite"? C-A-R-S-O-N ???

[hughee99]

13. Exactly! So what if his job had him doing fetal tissue research. He SHOULD have refused to do it

on moral grounds.

At the DU, we believe that you shouldn't have to do your job if you have moral objections, right?

[sarge43]

14. But, but, you see, he "evolved".

It was ok when nobody was using PP as a whipping boy. But now it's a great wedge issue and "don't look here; look there".

I find it interesting that Repugs hate the theory of evolution, but love to evolve.

[hughee99]

15. I find it interesting that a guy did his job despite

Any moral objections he may have had, and now he's being called out for it, but if he were a Texas county clerk, he'd be praised (at least a little) for doing the same thing.

It's not only republicans who "evolve" their positions to suit their current political needs.

[bl968]

16. Hoisted on his own Petard

He's getting hoisted on his own petard due to the fact that he tried to play it both ways when it suited him, and got caught.

There is nothing wrong with fetal tissue donation or research the way Planned Parenthood does it.

That being said we can call out the right on this very topic. Either it is ok or it isn't.

[cheapdate]

25. He was a medical research scientist and the author of a study

and not a court clerk. The two aren't remotely comparable.

[hughee99]

28. If you say so...

Both may be required to do things they may personally be opposed to, and both are expected to do them anyway.

[cheapdate]

29. The level of autonomy and freedom enojoyed by a lead medical research scientist

Last edited Sat Aug 15, 2015, 09:42 AM - Edit history (1)

is an entirely different class from a court clerk.

But more important than that, public officials have obligations that no other class of workers have.

The situations aren't in any way comparable.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

19. I'm picturing Mr Rogers

Can you say "hypocrisy", boys and girls? I knew you could.

[murielm99]

11. I hope someone has a recording of this.

It needs to be thrown back in his face, repeatedly. Maybe it could be used against other, more viable goper candidates when things get going. Many of them have come out with statements against fetal tissue research and Planned Parenthood.

Use their words against them.

[maindawg]

18. Word salad

"You have to look at the intent," Carson said before beginning a campaign swing through New Hampshire. "To willfully ignore evidence that you have for some ideological reason is wrong. If you’re killing babies and taking the tissue, that’s a very different thing than taking a dead specimen and keeping a record of it."

This is Palenesque word salad. Intent? What was your intent?
Willfully ignore evidence that you have for some ideological reason is wrong', what? What evidence? What ideological reason ?
Who is killing babies? No one is killing any babies. That is a crazy statement right there.

[question everything]

23. Agree. Hoping someone would translate this to plain English

fit for 6th grade which is what voters understand.

But, as others say: hypocrisy.

[olddots]

20. Its time to put this wanker on ignore .

Why do we encourage these fools ?

[MisterP]

21. oh, like the FACTS would make a dent in his support

[dhol82]

22. I still can't wrap my head around this statement

'If you’re killing babies and taking the tissue, that’s a very different thing than taking a dead specimen and keeping a record of it.'

Where did he think the 'dead specimen' came from?

[Jeb Bartlet]

24. Carson is a pandering

tool. He says whatever he thinks his low brow sycophants want to hear. He's just another Republican lying shill.

[kelliekat44]

26. Remember, there is too much political correctness in this country...so no apologies. No GOPer will

ever apologize for anything they say because they chalk up apologies with political correctness. It is really getting tiresome to hear the rant against PC especially when it is designed as an attack against civility, respectfulness, decency, and compassion. It is about time for the Dem candidates to meet this BS head on and attack the attack on PC calling it what it really is. The GOP loves bullying, disrespecting, and incivility and they need to be called on it. They are not "speaking the truth." They are shouting lies and misinformation.

[jmowreader]

30. Help me to understand

Performing an abortion, then recovering the fetus for use in medical research is an atrocity - why, if you do that, you may as well walk down the streets of Manhattan on a sunny Saturday and pluck babies out of strollers.

But actually performing medical research on that tissue is fine and a medical necessity.

Scratch one not-Bush from the clown car.

[IronLionZion]

31. Conservative intent justifies everything

Liberal intent is always evil, obviously...

Liberals use fetal tissue research because we're anti-life!