Why bother to seek the views of others on stem cells only to dismiss them as vested interest?

I WISH to comment on the booklet from the Irish Council on Bioethics on stem cells and Dr Stephen Sullivan’s analysis (April 25).

I support Dr Sullivan in his sympathy for those suffering from debilitating diseases, in his call for calmness in debate and in his urging the avoidance of propagating “scientifically unsubstantiated information”.

However, it is not easy to remain calm when one’s sincerely held views are sought and then dismissed on the grounds that they are from a “vested interest”. Dr Sullivan encourages advocacy groups to make their views known to the council — a waste of time, in my opinion, unless those views accord with those of the council. On the question of avoiding “scientifically unsubstantiated information”, I was taken aback by Dr Sullivan suggesting the humanity and life of the embryo are the same as for “liver transplants and all human cells”. Surely this is extreme reductionism. Implantation in utero would demonstrate the radical difference. Perhaps we can try to understand the Dr Sullivans of this world because of their genuine desire to alleviate human suffering.