Peter Griffin (after leaving stem cell research lab): How long was I in there?
Police Officer: About 5 minutes.
Peter Griffin: WHY ARE WE NOT FUNDING THIS?
This exchange about stem cell research took place on the Fox animated comedy series Family Guy in the eighth episode of season six titled “McStroke.”
The episode, which originally aired January 8, 2008, shows Peter Griffin asking a security guard “Why are we not funding this?” after being completely healed from a massive stroke that paralyzed the left half of his body.
This small mention, during an era where stem cells were far from a mainstream topic, hints to us that the writers of the show were in favor of funding stem cell research and understood the power of stem cell therapy.
Other than the obvious exaggeration of how quickly and effectively stem cells can work, the main point of the skit seems obvious – the technology is capable of performing nothing short of modern medical miracles.
Since this episode, breakthroughs have been made in treating blindness, spinal cord injuries, and debilitating diseases such as ALS, MS & CP, along with many, many other ailments.
The official blog of California’s Stem Cell Agency, CIRM, published an interesting, and insightful, article about this episode in 2012 that discusses current funding initiatives and advances being made at the time.
As of this writing, over eight years have passed since the original airing of this Family Guy episode and we still ask ourselves, “Why are we not funding this?” Because it could always use more, of course.