On October 1, 2020, President Trump announced that he and Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. Within the next couple of days, Trump was flown to Walter Reed National Medical Military Center to receive treatment for the virus. Few details were released to the public regarding his symptoms and official timeline, so it is hard to figure out what was actually going on inside the White House. One thing that we do know is that one specific treatment that Trump received was developed by human embryonic tissues, which are essentially cells harvested from aborted fetuses. This medical practice is widespread and has been used frequently around the world. However, in 2019, the Trump administration imposed strict human tissue research regulations, which backs up his pro-life stance. Although the human tissue research has been halted, the treatment that Trump received was from cells harvested from fetuses aborted before 2019. Even though these harvested cells can be stored for a long time, there is not enough to provide the public with treatment because of recent medical practice regulations. While it is technically legal to continue this research in private labs, the process is costly, and all federal grants have been rejected due to the regulations. So essentially, Trump received a treatment that will not be available to the public because of his policies. Personally, I am not surprised by the hypocrisy in this situation because, unfortunately, it is our new normal when it comes to President Trump. Because the treatment did seemingly go well, I think that Trump should consider lifting the regulations he implemented on the research program so that more people could have access to treatment. However, I find it very unlikely that he will do this due to his commitment to the far right and his support of the pro-life regulations.
Questions:
Should the remaining, viable, harvested cells be distributed to part of the public? Or because it is not widely available, would it cause more damage in society?
Do you think that Trump’s pro-life stance justifies cutting the federal research on human embryonic tissues?
Personally, I was not really aware of this specific treatment that Trump received, but I cannot really say I'm surprised by this hypocrisy, because like you said, this is sadly pretty normal for Trump. I think the first question you pose is difficult, because it's hard to say that only some people should have access to successful treatments while others don't. However, it's also hard to say that we should deny people from treatments that could save their life, which makes me want to err on the side of distributing the remaining cells, because at least some lives are saved from this. In addition, I guess I understand why Trump cut funding on embryonic research (based on his beliefs), but that doesn't mean I agree or believe it's justified. I believe a president's actions should create the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people, which he's obviously not doing with this action.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meher that the President should not make decisions for the country based on his personal beliefs if those choices don't benefit the majority of the population. I also agree with her statement that the remaining cells should be distributed to part of the public. We both agreed that it's hard to give only some people this treatment, but it is better than nothing and if it can save some lives I think it is worth it.
DeleteSimilar to Meher, I also had no clue that Trump used embryonic stem cells to help cure his illness. Clearly the treatment method seems to be very effective but I'm kind of torn on whether or not it should be released to the public. Obviously it could help save lives but based on how many people and who gets treated might cause public outrage and riots. I think it would be wise for Trump to refund the research, but if there's no other choice as of right now then curing some people is probably best. As long as there is no favoritism in who gets treated and he's doing it for the good of the people then the vast majority of citizens will support Trump's decision to distribute the remaining cells.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Edan that Trump should distribute the remaining cells without favoritism and because this could save many lives, I think it would have support from majority of society. I also agree that Trump should look into refunding the program because even if restarting the program takes too long and can't help with COVID, it could help future diseases or viruses.
DeleteI think that yes, the remaining cells should be disturbed to other people, because if there is a treatment that works, it seems wrong to not use it and save as many lives as possible. That being said, it's really difficult to decide who gets access to the treatment, since there are a limited number of cells. I spent a while thinking about how to determine who should have access to the treatment and who shouldn't, but I really can't come up with any good criteria. The most prominent members of society? The ones who can afford the extremely high cost? The youngest, the ones who have the most life left to live? The cases where it's most likely to be successful? These all seem really unfair.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of when Trump disbanded the pandemic response team in 2018. Of course, he had no way of knowing that a pandemic would hit 2 years later, and in this situation, he had no way of knowing that human tissue research would be so valuable during said pandemic. I wouldn't say he's at fault here, but I also agree with Meher that Presidents should make decisions on the basis of the greater good, not on the basis of their personal beliefs.
Like the other comments said, I also was not aware that he used this treatment, and I am also not surprised by his hypocrisy but I am definitely still frustrated. I think it is hard to determine whether the remaining cells should be distributed, because on the one hand it did seem like a very effective treatment. It could possibly save lives and I think that is very important. But on the other hand is it fair if only some people could have access to this treatment? But I agree with Iva that Presidents should make decisions based on what will benefit the people and not base everything off their own beliefs. I think that if the remaining treatment was distributed it could definitely be helpful, but it is hard to gage the publics response. I also think that refunding the research would be a good, and could be used for future viruses and diseases, and it would also be more fair to everyone. -Rowan CC
ReplyDeleteI don't think that they should be publicly available because then you would run into the problem of who gets the treatment. Is it the one with the most money? This is where an issue like this is hard. It is also hard because they were supposed to be used for testing and if all of them were converted, there wouldn't be much left and it still wouldn't amount to much as the majority of the population wouldn't receive treatment. I don't think it is justified. If someone gets an abortion and that could be used for scientific purposes, it is just a waste because they already got the abortion and there is no changing that.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the remaining cells should be distributed to part of the public. With a limited amount, it would cause more problems in society because only certain groups and people will be able to get it. If the Trump administration hadn't regulated the use of these cells, then the treatment could have been more largely produced and distributed to greater numbers in the public, probably being very beneficial in COVID-19 treatments. Trump has the right to his own views and opinions. His reasons against abortion may have justified his decision on the policy, and that's just something we have to deal with whether we agree or not. Personally I think that using the cells from aborted fetuses isn't a bad thing, and that it's a good medical advancement. Obviously it's done some good against the virus (as Trump claims he's recovered). If the fetus has already been aborted, you can't reverse the process, so why not use it for scientific and medical purposes that can benefit thousands of people.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Trump allowed research to be conducted with aborted fetuses, other pro-life supporters that support him would disagree and he could possibly lose supporters. Even though research with embryonic tissues would benefit the search for a cure, it would cause disruption as people fight over who deserves to use the cure, since there isn't enough to sustain a permanent cure. With embryonic tissues, the cure could be a temporary solution until scientists are able to develop a more sustainable cure. I think since abortion is also such a controversial topic, distribution of this cure would cause a lot of backlash and protests. Since winning the election is so important to Trump, he definitely does not want to lose supporters by going against his pro-life belief, however I think it's best for the majority and will save lots of lives to find a cure.
ReplyDeleteLimited distribution of anything is risky, as we saw with PPE in the early stages of the shut down. If it is released to the public they have to make super many restrictions on who should get it, at what quantity, how, when, etc etc and I don't have enough faith in the government to believe they will do that without hiccups. In a perfect world it would be distributed to first responders as they need it the most.
ReplyDeleteThe hypocrisy makes me laugh in a sad way, and yes he absolutely should remove the ban on federal research on human embryonic tissue. However, that's just my personal opinion and I do think Trump is justified in his previous banning of the research. Justified, but not logical. Justified because the stance of pro-lifers is that abortions are not constitutional, and they're allowed to believe that (even if it also has countless of other, usually ill, implications). However, it's not vert logical because the tissue would get discarded anyway so there's no reason why it shouldn't be donated to science if the mother agrees.
As others have mentioned, I wholeheartedly agree that the remaining treatment should be distributed scarce or not. I believe it should be given out based on need, and while it may not reach everyone in need of it, saving some lives is better than saving no lives. As Edan put it, as long as favoritism is not at all a factor, it seems like the safest plan of action. However, personally I truly believe this research should be funded again as it could truly save and benefit so many lives.
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