I Don’t Hate America!

Recent news concerning Dr. Brian Davis of the Mayo Clinic has caused me to write. Ollie from Bluestem caused quite a stir with the conservative author at “Blonde Sagacity.” Apparently it was enough of a stir to get Dr. Brian Davis to answer Ollie’s questions on the (not surprising) conservative blog.

The posts are related to Dr. Brian Davis view on embryonic stem cell research and his ties with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology (ASTRO). Ollie writes:

“Mayo cancer doc Brian Davis came out with his views:

Mayo Clinic cancer physician Brian Davis said he was committed to conservative values like protecting life, stem cell research, no same-sex marriages, securing our borders and remaining offensive in the Global War on Terror.

“You don’t need to destroy a human embryo to do stem cell research,” Davis explained.

This is interesting. Brian J. Davis was in Walz’s DC office in April on behalf of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology(ASTRO) to discuss Walz’s position about stem cell when he told Walz of his potential plans to challenge him in 2008, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin. The Cancer Leadership Council includes ASTRO among supporters of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.

Will Davis continue to be active in an organization that supports legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research? We’re curious if he shared ASTRO’s agenda with New Ulm’s GOP funsters, or confided his opposition to embryonic stem cell research with Congressman Walz back in April while lobbying on behalf of ASTRO.”

Dr. Brian Davis answers these questions on the conservative blog:

1. Will Davis continue to be active in an organization that supports legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research?

Yes, I anticipate remaining active in this organization. While I may take issue with ASTRO’s stance on this particular issue, I remain supportive of the broader aims of the organization as they relate to providing quality cancer care to our patients and supporting cancer research.

2. We’re curious if he shared ASTRO’s agenda with New Ulm’s GOP funsters.

No, this was not a topic of discussion at the meeting in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota with the group from New Ulm and elsewhere.

3. Did Davis confide his opposition to embryonic stem cell research with Congressman Walz back in April while lobbying on behalf of ASTRO?

No, our discussions were focused primarily on the specific legislative agenda of ASTRO’s at that time. This agenda did not include any references to embryonic stem cell research. Nonetheless, Congressman Walz shared some of his views on embryonic stem cell research but did not inquire about mine. Consequently, I did not take the time to relate my personal views to him on this matter.

As a representative for ASTRO, Dr. Brian Davis should fully support measures that were passed as part of the organization’s legislative agenda. I keep thinking about how MSUSA students advocate for 0% tuition because we voted for this wording in our own agenda. When visiting with legislators, we are bound by our representation of MSUSA and the students to push a 0% tuition increase, not go there on our own and say we don’t personally care if tuition is increased. Dr. Brian Davis stated, “Consequently, I did not take the time to relate my personal views to him on this matter” referring to embryonic stem-cell research. If I was meeting with a legislator (or in his case, a congressman!) and they told me their stance on tuition, would I not take the time to advocate for my organization’s view… especially if I am there on behalf of the organization? Apparently if I didn’t feel strongly enough, I could ignore it. He pushed aside his trip to represent his organization, to represent himself instead. This is evidenced by his hinting of running against Walz.

The second statement that concerned me was his view on embryonic stem-cell research. Ollie quoted him saying, “You don’t need to destroy a human embryo to do stem cell research.” As a medical professional and person that people look up to, I am astonished that his personal bias goes beyond sound medical research. As a doctor, I respect him greatly for his work. I work with great doctors that excel in their practice. As a candidate for Walz’s seat, I criticize his belief that embryonic stem-cell research is the destruction of life. It is saving lives from soon-to-be-already-destroyed embryos! The American Medical Association, the organization that physicians are members of supports fully-funded embryonic stem-cell research. What is Dr. Brian Davis trying to prove when he doesn’t follow what research papers, organizations that he’s a part of, and many of his republican colleagues all agree on?

Just a quick paragraph from my 10-page research paper entitled, “Stem Cell Research: The Morality Policy and What Nurses Can Do”:

The authors, along with many organizations from the scientific community like the American Academy of Neurology and the American Medical Association show a congruent trend toward fully funding stem-cell research. Discussions are made on the ethics and how current restrictions limit research, slowing progression toward useful treatments. There were similar guidelines put forth among the articles that suggest new ways of ethically advocating stem-cell research (McCloskey, 2002; Okie, 2005). These guidelines tended toward stem-cell advocates and still the moral policy of opponents is challenged. The Committee on the Biological and Biomedical Applications of Stem Cell Research was quoted on a number of occasions suggesting recommendations to move forward with the vast potential stem-cell research has (McCloskey, 2002). The committee suggested that life is not being taken away from stem-cell research, and that stem-cell lines are from embryos already going to be destroyed. Opponents still hold their moral convictions despite the ethical bargaining of the committee.

Sources and great reads:

Cedar, S.H. (2006). Stem cell and related therapies: Nurses and midwives
representing all parties. Nursing Ethics, 13(3), 292-303.

Ennen, K. (2001). Shaping the future of practice through political
activity: How nurses can influence health care policy. AAOHN
Journal, 49(12), 557-569.

McCloskey, B. (2002). The controversy surrounding stem cell research.
Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 3(1), 4-13.

National Institutes of Health (2006). Federal Policy
[Stem Cell Information]. Retrieved November 11, 2006 from
Web site: http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/defaultpage.asp

Okie, S. (2005). Stem-cell research: Signposts and roadblocks. The
New England Journal of Medicine, 353(1), 1-5.

Schwartz, R. S. (2006). The politics and promise of stem-cell research.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 355(12), 1189-1191.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Brian Davis, Congress, Tim Walz, 2008, Jason B.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.