Extremely important.

Duh! Important!

Sounds like a good idea - now, just show me in the Constitution where it says the Government can do it.

More funding for medical research is all people seem to say. No one is against education, medical research, fighting poverty, mom, hotdogs and apple pie. The reality is that society has a fixed amount of resources at any given point in time (ie there is no bottomless cookie jar), so the question is how do we allocate these fixed resources. Okay, you want more public funding for medical research, on what are you willing to spend less... education, defense, police? It appears to me that government medical research has gotten too political as it is, consider the spending on breast cancer and prostate cancer compared to the number of people who suffer from each respectively. The relative spending on political darlings like AIDS and cancer compared to other conditions. The market at least provides some assurances that we get the most bang from the research buck. If anything, governments role should only be to make sure the less sexy medical issues receive funding too (much like conservationists use the Giant Panda to raise funds for at risk slugs as well). Finally, society must come to grips with the fact that current medical research seems to be extending actual life span much faster than productive life span. This cannot continue without massive amounts of new wealth creation (unlikely) or a change of policy.

It would be great to see more loved ones die simply of old age than of cancer or another disease. The issue I have is this - Overpopulation. Many of the same people on this list who are rating medical research high are also rating environment, medicare, welfare, healthcare, hunger, rising taxes, rising cost of prescription drugs, and poverty high. Got news for ya - these issues will all be poorly affected with overpopulation. Life expectancy keeps rising, teen pregnancy keeps rising, child birth keeps rising...we are going to deplete all of our resources. Poverty and hunger will increase, healthcare, medicare, and prescription drugs will skyrocket, and taxes will skyrocket. Unfortunately, if people don't die, we're all in trouble.

The issue of Medical Reasearch is one which holds much promise for all of the human race. The US is the world leader on this issue and we should stay that way. The mapping of the human genome could potentially eradicate many diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, AIDS, and cancer. Basically, by altering the composition of the DNA and RNA, the possibility of eradicating many diseases rises substancially. Now comes the question of oversight over this research...I believe that the government should have some oversight over medical research, but they should foster an environment which will allow this research to be fruitful. Advances in stem-cell research has not occured in government labs but in laboratories funded by the big bad pharmaceutical industry. The government should help fund medical research, but only on a limited basis. The government has never really been an innovative force in any ventures and frankly when they keep their hands off we're all the better for it. The governments of European nations plus Canada subsidize medicine and they are nowhere near as advanced as us. Why do people from all over the world go to such excellent medical facilities like the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for medical treatment? Too many issues are currently politicized and medical research shouldn't be one of them. Government's role in this issue should be to promote, not to legislate or to subsidize excessively. Now for the question on ethical issues which may arise and regulatory issues that may need to be resolved...This is very difficult to answer because most of the moral issues that arise from this research have to precedent many times. I support advancement in medicine. As a society, we are meant to advance technologically, this is merely part of that advancement. Medical research can help cure millions of people from the diseases that afflict them. It would be ludicrous to not continue with this kind of research. Just don't get the government too involved.

No government should be in control of a country's medical and scientific research. Yes, government can provide funds to independant companies to help pay for the research, which is the only reason this got two stars. This is an important issue, its just not a political one.

Numerous disorders and diseases pollute the people. Teratomas, AIDS, depression, anencephaly, cyclopia disorder, Treacher Collins disorder, HIV, Urticaria, and many more. We need to prevent these diseases and by more medical research, We could!

Only if it's for something useful.

Medical research is very important to improve the quality of life in the future. However, it is not the role of the government to be in charge of medical research. As history has proven, innovation and entrepreneurship run free when they come from the private sector, free from government control and intrusion.

How about some nore money for AIDS research Bush?

Big issue, yes. Big POLITICAL issue, not really. It's more up to private companies, not the government. Unless the government is helping to fund them. More funding is good. But, that's about as far as I'd want the government to really go with it.

definitely more important than gay rights, for example......

It seems almost painfully obvious that this is the right way to go. I have absolutely no idea what people are refering to by connecting Amtrak to medical research. The government doesn't conduct the research they give out grants for the research to be conducted, usually by people working at universities; most of the most immpressive advancements in medicine have come from these universities. And the private sector is not effected by this since they work towards much more goal oriented (e.g. developing a new antacid drug) than just trying to increase our knowledge about biology.

ACT UP!! FIGHT AIDS!!

Medical Research is very very important. I know that I hope to become a biochemist one day and hopefully get a chance to do my part in the battle against disease. I believe in Stem Cell research. I think it is an extremely important tool in the fight against such diseases as cancer and AIDS. Anything to help alleviate human suffering is always tops.

Aids, cancer and blood isnt the only problem... There are kids who have kidney problems! Sure they can fix it at birth now, but they are STRUGGLING and CLUELESS with these cases that DO have them! Surgery after surgery, infection after infection they dont know what to do! We need more research in medical research but please dont forget this kidney problems!

Let's find a cure for all diseases. We need it.

As much as I'm afraid of genetic engineering, the amount of deaths that have resulted from rarely curable diseases like AIDS & cancer just begs for medical research to help fight the sicknesses. Alzheimer's has ruined the lives of many. And now with all these anthrax scares, we need to know how to get rid of these illnesses. One of the scariest things about this that I found is that the diseases are so intelligent. AIDS knows exactly how to disable your body. Anthrax knows exactly how to turn your body against itself and eat away at you until you die. I think this calls for lots of medical research.

Do we really want our "civil servants", the people who deliver our mail, run Amtrak, run Health, Education and Welfare (now called Health and Human Services) to head medical research. Let the medical research be conducted by intelligent scientists working in the private sector.

No doubt about it we can't do without medical research - NOR SHOULD WE BY ANY MEANS. But, I cringe when I think of the government being deeply involved with or having any control over it. If you don't understand what I mean - just look at what they did to Amtrak. Our railroads were once among the best in the entire world and now - well, let's just say they really NEED that 3 billion dollars they're now asking for to rebuild and revitalize. With that and other instances of government committee led brilliance in mind, it seems very dangerous to leave decision making for anything as important as medical research in the same hands. Imagine committees comprised mainly of a selection of proven moneygrubbers and insincere grinning idiots - all being driven to make decisions based on the amount of votes it may bring them. Can we really expect enough of them to overcome long-standing addictions to self and people pleasing to make moral, ethical and fair judgments? Based on long track records, we can easily guess what their motivations are which casts more than enough light on where their heads reside most of the time. Few are suspected of having thoughts or motives that extend very far beyond their own personal comfort zone. So, yes, medical research IS important and should be FUNDED in part through government means. Just be sure to leave the big decisions to the qualified scientific research community - not the political clowns.

Especially for AIDS. I don't think anymore people should have to die because we were too stupid and focused too much on secondary issues to help them! Stem cell research, ALL THE WAY, is a must. The music industry should give more benifit concerts---that will help some. This and gay rights and what to do about the WTC hype are the three most important issues out there. Look at all the famous people who have died of AIDS! Arthur Ashe, Amanda Blake, Freddie Mercury (I'm especially sorry he had to go---greatest singer of all time. Proved the phrase "Only the good die young". I'm so sorry we were so ignorant Freddie, I love you!), Liberace---want me to go on??? We have to put an end to all this death, to arrest these seemingly unstoppable murderers (terminal diseases) that pollute our societies!