Loose Weight AND Save Two Lives

       You can loose weight and save a life!  This may sound a little odd, but this could be an eye-catching slogan sometime in the future.  This is a very appealing statement especially since approximately 63% of all Americans are overweight (American Sports Data).  Many of us heard this from Brad Harrub, but I also read an article today which stated, "Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that the millions of fat cells removed during liposuction can be easily and quickly turned into induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, more easily than the skin cells that researchers used when the first iPS cells were created in 2007" (CNN Health).  The reason this is so significant is because stem cells can be turned into any other cell in the body and potentially replace cells in the body that are no longer produce in adults.  As a result of this, many different diseases and life threatening issues may be able to be cured during the process of losing weight!
       While in once sense giving stem cells from fat can save a person from a disease, as you may have noticed I said in the title, "save two lives."  The other life that could be saved is a baby's.  As I was researching some statistics about many babies' lives that are not saved, this is what I found:

All of the following statistics are taken from
The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

- There are approximately 1,370,000 abortions per year in the US, 42 million worldwide.
- That is 3,700 per day in the US, 115,000 per day worldwide.
- 64.4% of all abortions are from women who have never been married.
- 9.4% are from divorced women.
- An estimated 43% of women will have at least 1 abortion by age 45.

       It is unknown how many years it will be down the road before one may actually be able to donate stem cells in such a way, but this doesn't change the fact that many innocent lives are being lost as a result of stem cell research.  Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves what the Lord says about this.  Proverbs 6:16-17, "The Lord hates....hands that shed innocent blood."  What could be more innocent than an unborn child?  Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..."  The Lord obviously considers an unborn child to be alive and in His plan.  There are several others as well (Deuteronomy 19:10, Proverbs 28:17, Luke 1:15, etc).

       There is also no reason for innocent babies to be destroyed in order to obtain their stem cells when there is a plethora of stem cells that can be obtained in much less harmful ways.  While I do not think there are many Christians who support abortion, it is always good to be reminded that we are in the world be we are not of the world.  We cannot support much of what the world supports.

 

-- Brett Petrillo