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.
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