A vital distinction in stem cell research
Adult stem cell research is completely ethical as no harm is done to the person from whom they are obtained.
A world authority on this work is Prof. David Prentice of Indiana State University. Referring to embryonic stem cell research, he informed me that “we continue to hear of their promise, potential and possibilities, yet there is scant published evidence to support this.”
He listed the dangers of this line of research, pointing out that there is no current clinical treatment arising out of it.
In order to work with embryonic stem cells, it is necessary to kill the embryo. It is scientific dishonesty to pretend that each embryo is not a new, unique human being from the moment of fertilisation.
The fact that it is so small that we cannot see it without the aid of a microscope is a function of our nature that is appropriate to the structure of our eyes. It does not give us the right to dispose of it as we wish.
The embryo, after all, is the correct size for its stage of development. The structure of the eye also makes it impossible for us to see people on the ground when we are 1,000 metres in the air. It does not follow that we have a right to rain death on them.
There is a supposition that cures for a wide range of diseases are just around the corner if only embryonic stem cell research goes ahead. The abundant evidence points in the opposite direction. The difficulty is that drug and cosmetic companies wish to test their products on embryonic cells, and have a financial incentive for doing so.
Ireland is well able to hold its own in science and research. We should take pride in knowing the true frontiers of the advances in medical treatment. Let us stay with ethical scientific advances, and not disgrace ourselves by assisting in a new and more terrible Auschwitz.
Dr ME MacConaill,
Coryule,
Brahalish,
Durrus,
Co Cork.
