The Bush administration opposes the cloning of human embryos for stem-cell research. South Korea has no such qualms, and cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk intends to open a world stem-cell bank to facilitate wider research.
(Via Wired News.)

There are many arguments that can be made for stem-cell research. It is going to improve lives and allow us to find cures for life threatening diseases. I have been thinking about how easy it is for a healthy person to get on a high horse about stem-cell research and claim that it is un-ethical. I bet a lot of politicians would change their tone very quickly if they were affected by a disease that could be treated through the advances of stem-cell research.

Well, now there is another point of view entering the arena, one that many people hold very dear – economics. What happens if Korea discovers ways to treat a number of life-threatening diseases with a near perfect success rate? Don’t you think Americans, and people from all over the world, will travel to Korea to get cured, regardless of the laws in their own country? Just imagine the amount of money that will flow into Korea!

When we are healthy we have tenthousand wishes and desires, but when we are sick we only have one single wish… think about that. Nothing is going to stop stem-cell research, not the politicians, and not the religious leaders… because when people suffer and there is a potential cure it is impossible to stop the wheel from turning. When the first news arrives of being able to cure one of the diseases everyone fears, there will be a stampede towards Seoul.