No evidence of a cure for serious illness

IT IS most disturbing to hear Tánaiste Minister Mary Harney’s justification for embryo research... that as many of the embryos may die they might as well be experimented on.

This argument could just as easily apply to people with terminal illnesses and those with disabilities who may have a shorter life expectancy.

Her suggestion that embryonic stem cells may provide cures for certain diseases or illnesses has little or no foundation. In many cases research on embryonic stem cells is being abandoned in favour of research on the more successful adult stem cells.