Paul F....

BRAVO!!!   Well stated....

Barb Mallut
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-----Original Message-----
From: P&B Fahr <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, February 13, 2000 5:58 AM
Subject: Stem cells/Fetal Tissue/NIH


>List members:
>The following is a letter to the editor of my local newspaper
>from 1994, the year my father died of PD complications and the
>year after my brother was diagnosed with PD.  Bob Martone's
>recent posting about a letter to NIH reminded me of this letter.
>
>Some of the comments about fetal tissue transplants is now
>outdated, BUT, with some minor editing the same letter would
>apply to stem cell research.  Research is a continuous process.
>Stem cell research evolved from those experiments in the early
>1990s.
>
>Bob, you or anyone else may use any of these comments you wish.
>I stand by what I said then.  What I said is just as valid now.
>
>Also --- the following quote from a posting a couple of days ago
>makes a valid point.
>
> "Would the people who oppose the research refuse the cure?"
>K-F Etzold
>
>There are people that oppose use of animals in research but if
>the doctor prescribes the approved medication or medical
>procedure they accept it.
>
>Paul Fahr
>+++++++++++++++++
>February 25, 1994
>
>The Feb. 24 commentary by **** ******* brings up many valid
>points concerning the conflicts of public policy and moral
>issues.  There is one point, however, where her position on the
>issue makes a moral judgment that is contrary to her position on
>the other issues.
>
> Parkinson's disease affects thousands of persons in this
>country.  There is no cure.
>Progression of the disease can be slowed by some very powerful,
>often hallucinogenic
>medications but not stopped.  Unlike Alzheimer's or most cancers,
>Parkinson's disease
>is not a fatal disorder.  The patient still has their mental
>abilities but due to an imbalance
>in a part of the brain they slowly lose their ability to
>communicate, lose control of their
>bodily functions, and lapse into a "fetal" state.  They become
>100% dependent on another
>human being for their very existence.
>
>  Research in foreign countries has shown that implanting a
>minute quantity of fetal cells
>into the affected part of the brain of the patient with
>Parkinson's syndrome can restore that
>person to a useful, productive life.  The results have been
>profound and well documented.
>The procedure has been the subject of a documentary on PBS.  The
>actively growing
>tissue from a fetus has proven to produce the best results.
>Tissue from a more mature
>source is not viable enough to reproduce effectively and benefit
>the patient.
>
>   You will note that the research has been done in foreign
>countries, not in the United
>  States where we have the best medical research facilities in
>the world.  That can now
>  change as of 1993.
>
> I respect your position on abortion and will not argue that.
>What I question is your
>apparent position that a fetus is an important human being but a
>person 45, 50, or 60
>years old is not important enough to try to find a cure for their
>debilitating disorder--even
>with a potential solution on the horizon.  A person with advanced
>stages of Parkinson's has
>all the characteristics of a fetus--they are just 50 or 60 years
>older.  You apparently are
>willing to sentence a formerly productive, breathing, feeling,
>loving  person to life in prison
>in his or her own body.
>
> Organ and tissue transplants have become an accepted method of
>using human tissue
>from a life that has ended to make the life of another human
>being more fulfilled.  I hear
>no outcry against the practice.  We do not question how the
>donated organ or tissue
>becomes available...be it by murder, accident, or natural causes.
>We accept it as a gift
>and use the resource available to save a life or make a life
>better.
>
> The first step in research is seldom the final solution.  I do
>not foresee fetal tissue
>transplants as "the answer" to the problem.  The ultimate goal is
>to determine exactly how
>the process works so that an alternative can be found.
>Transplants are only a step in that
>direction.  The cure for Alzheimer's or other neurological
>disorders may result.  Let's give
>the doctors and medical researchers in America the opportunity to
>solve the problem
>without undue conflict.  You never know when you, your family, or
>a loved one may
>become the beneficiary.
>
> The brain is a terrible thing to waste---whether it is 6 weeks
>or 60 years old.
>
>Paul E. Fahr
>
>++++++
>The editor used the following headline:
>
>The brain is a
>terrible thing to
>waste at any age