Your Opinion: Embryonic cell research opposed

Edward Bode, Jefferson City

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Dear Editor: The article in the Sept. 12 issue of Active Times presents a report on an unbalanced speech on stem cell research.

The speaker represented proponents of embryonic stem cell research. She praised that scientific research. She paid little and inadequate attention to its scientific opponents, which were noted to include religious conservatives.

Science is clear: the union of a human ovum with a human sperm produces a human being. Nothing intrinsic need be added or subtracted in order to have a human being. This in not a religious question but a scientific fact.

The real issue arises from what some scientists do with embryonic stem cells. The supporters of the research want to experiment with these human beings with the result that they are killed. The opponents of such research totally reject the sacrifice of innocent human beings on the altar of scientific research.

Some scientists champion adult stem cell research, which has cured multitudes of patients without killing human beings. Adult stem cells have treated numerous types of disorders including various cancers, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular as well ocular and metabolic disorders. The effectiveness comes from the adult cells being part of the natural repair mechanism of the adult body. Embryonic stem cell research has produced tumors and rejection as a foreign tissue.

“Follow the money” is the key to understanding embryonic stem cell research. These researchers want our money, including our tax dollars.

I think of the medieval alchemists who sought to change common metals into gold. Today, the stem-cell embryologists would lead us down the yellow brick (gold) road — leading to an illusory panacea in the deceptive dream-land of Oz.

Issue-oriented letters to the editor in response to this or about other local topics are welcome. All letters should be limited to 400 words. The author's name must appear with the letter, and the name, address and phone number provided for verification. Letters that cannot be verified by telephone will not be published. Send letters for publication to editor@newstribune.com

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asb 1 year, 8 months ago

The idea that a human zygote is an "innocent human being" is misleading, and is at the heart of the debate about abortion. When a zygote becomes human is not at all clear scientifically. Every somatic cell in our bodies, human adult stem cells in particular, have all the genetic information needed such that "Nothing intrinsic need be added or subtracted in order to have a human being." We shed thousands of these cells every day without a thought. The idea of an embryonic stem cell being more human than a liver or blood stem cell is found in the fundamentalist idea that if it didn't use to be, it shouldn't be today. Our ability to create viable humans from medical waste is coming and will be very difficult for fundamentalists to handle, but they must..

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