Stem cell research II

**Originally written November 21, 2007 in the midst of a heated debate in the Nebraska Legislature regarding stem cell research conducted in the state by the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  This is the second of three pieces on the subject.

Please read previous post, and then read and listen here:

Stem-Cell Supporters, Critics Weigh In
Each stored embryo is a stem cell debate
Souls on Ice
Key Moments in the Stem-Cell Debate

The media hype surrounding this is producing the statement that this will essentially eliminate the debate over embryonic stem cell research.

I disagree.

What I have seen in my own research on the subject, and the decades of accumulated information I’ve read and digested, is that there isn’t one be-all, end-all stem cell discovery that will rise above the rest. The fact is that all men, women, and children are individuals. They have individual needs. No one who goes to the doctor for anything is going to find that their treatment is the same as everyone else’s. Sometimes it’s a gamble – you try one thing, you try another. What works for one person just may not work for you. That being said, this leaves the door wide open for human embryonic stem cell research and treatments, if they prove viable.

Does this mean we kill babies to get the embryos? The entire idea that scientists will hunt you down for your eggs just to save someone else’s life is just too ludicrous to even address in any realm other than science fiction.

The embryos left over from fertility clinics, however, is another thing. What do they do with the series of embryos that have been tagged for a certain person or a certain situation, the in vitro fertilization is successful, and some remain? As you saw above, there is a bank for those for research, but not everyone chooses to give their remaining embryos for research. Some think this is a terrible thing to do, but what then happens to them? The other choice is that they are left to expire and tossed in the trash.

Tossed in the trash.

Certain factions, including certain comments made by the Catholic Archdiocese, seem to think this is a viable alternative to research. I actually heard someone say, “It’s better to let them die naturally.” Die naturally? What constitutes “dying naturally”? I did a little investigating. Effectively what this person is saying is don’t keep them frozen anymore, don’t tend to them. Just leave them on a shelf and let them, essentially, starve to death.

That sounds like “dying naturally”, doesn’t it?

This is a tremendous issue.

If I believe these embryos are all viable lives, the choice seems to be which method of demise do I approve?

The Catholic Archdiocese, President George W. Bush, and most pro-life factions, in words of their own choosing (not these I’ve expressed here), seem to prefer the “natural death” approach. Let them starve and then toss them in the trash. It’s better than subjecting them to perceived pain when being used in research.

The other side of this is using these embryos in research for the benefit of mankind nationally and internationally. So much good can come from this, the mind just cannot take it all in. I have a sister with Lupus. My uncle had Parkinson’s. I have had cancer four times. My mother died from cancer. My grandfather had Alzheimer’s.

How would such research affect you and your family?

The debate on stem cell research will continue for decades.