Bob,
Brilliantly stated.  I agree.  I would hope more can understand your point.

Greg
47/35/35
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ROBERT A MARTONE" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2000 5:39 AM
Subject: Stem Cell


> I have been religiously following the debate on Stem Cells.
> I'm not sure why I haven't jumped in sooner. What I have
> been doing is reassessing my own system of values as it
> relates to this complex subject. Part of this evaluation has
> forced me to go back and look at the definition of words
> that are used in the debate. Words like zygote, blastula,
> totipotent and pluripotent were not part of my everyday
> vocabulary so I sent those definitions to the list a few
> days ago.
> 
> Religion, morals, ethics and science are a part of my every
> day vocabulary but tonight I found myself going back and
> re-examining those words too. So I am forwarding those to
> the list as part of this commentary.
> 
> It seems to me the issues fall into two categories:
> 
> The first is science and the second is belief systems. The
> science of a single life form has a starting and an ending
> point.  The belief systems that interpret those points are
> almost never ending. Science relies heavily on knowledge,
> quantitative knowledge. Belief systems involve reverence for
> a supernatural power or absence of reverence for a
> supernatural power both tempered by knowledge. Ethics and
> morality seem to flow logically from the application of
> belief systems and knowledge. Some people place greater
> emphasis on the belief system, others place greater emphasis
> on the science and others try to wrestle with the two.
> 
> For me it has been nearly impossible to separate these two
> issues. My belief system is that life should be protected
> and preserved. I used to add "at all cost." Our ability to
> extend life through artificial means that don't always
> address the quality of life has caused me to reconsider the
> "at all cost" phrase.
> 
> My belief system has been that life begins at conception. My
> knowledge now causes me to challenge that notion. I now
> know, or I think I know that a female is born with all her
> eggs in place at birth. This is more than she can ever use
> during her childbearing years or even during her lifetime. I
> also know that a male is capable of producing more sperm
> than he could ever use to fertilize and egg. Therefore the
> potential to produce life through traditionally acceptable
> means (sanctioned monogamous relationships) allows most
> potential life giving zygotes to die.
> 
>  Thirty years ago I might have thought of this as a
> curiosity of nature. As a pro-life thinker today I find
> myself asking why all this death? Could it be that the
> supernatural power that I do believe exists is revealing new
> life opportunities to me or am I somehow violating the
> ethical bounds imposed by my traditional belief systems that
> are based on my knowledge and the knowledge of many
> generations that have preceded me.
> 
> My leaning today is to allow the exploration, some would
> call it exploitation, of these life or potential life forms
> to proceed in a guarded and regulated way. I would proceed
> based on the knowledge we possess and the body of belief
> systems including religious beliefs that provide the moral
> and ethical constraints that have served mankind so well. I
> believe the NIH guidelines provide those constraints.
> 
> Do I have concerns about the potential abuses that can
> result? Absolutely. The scientists that created the first
> atomic bomb were deeply troubled by the potential for abuse.
> Many pleaded to stop the research. It took nineteen months.
> Nearly sixty years later we still have the same concerns.
> Despite these concerns there have been many advances that
> mankind has experienced including many medical advances
> based on that discovery. The sole purpose of that effort was
> to kill to end the killing. So far, I believe that promise
> has been fulfilled.
> 
> It seems to me that science may be able to establish when
> life begins but each belief system will continue to spin
> that knowledge to support their particular view of when it
> begins. While the taking of any life troubles me, and
> probably always will, my spin on my newly acquired knowledge
> is that the current use of excess embryo's to end the
> killing caused by disease seems morally and ethically
> justified.
> 
> I welcome comments.
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> Bob Martone
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.samlink.com/~bmartone
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Definitions for religion, ethics, amoral, moral, and science
> follow.
> ------------------------------------
> Religion -
> Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers
> regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
> A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such
> belief and worship.
> The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
> A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the
> teachings of a spiritual leader.
> A cause, a principle, or an activity pursued with zeal or
> conscientious devotion.
> ----------------------------------
> 
> Ethic
> A set of principles of right conduct.
> A theory or a system of moral values: "An ethic of service
> is at war with a craving for gain" (Gregg Easterbrook).
> ethics. (used with a sing. verb)The study of the general
> nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be
> made by a person; moral philosophy.
> ethics. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)The rules or
> standards governing the conduct of a person or the members
> of a profession: medical ethics.
> Amoral - Adjective
> Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither
> moral nor immoral.
> Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong.
> ----------------------------
> Moral - adjective
> Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness
> of human action and character: moral scrutiny; a moral
> quandary.
> Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character
> and behavior: a moral lesson.
> Conforming to standards of what is right or just in
> behavior; virtuous: a moral life.
> Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong: a
> moral obligation.
> Having psychological rather than physical or tangible
> effects: a moral victory; moral support.
> Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction, rather than
> on the actual evidence: a moral certainty.
> noun.
> The lesson or principle contained in or taught by a fable, a
> story, or an event.
> A concisely expressed precept or general truth; a maxim.
> morals. Rules or habits of conduct, especially of sexual
> conduct, with reference to standards of right and wrong: a
> person of loose morals; a decline in the public morals.
> 
> morally  adverb
> Synonyms: moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous.
> These adjectives mean in accord with principles or rules of
> right or good conduct. Moral applies to personal character
> and behavior, especially sexual conduct, measured against
> prevailing standards of rectitude: "The fact that man knows
> right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the
> other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves
> his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot" (Mark
> Twain). Ethical stresses conformity with idealistic
> standards of right and wrong, as those applicable to the
> practices of lawyers and doctors: "The world has achieved
> brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear
> giants and ethical infants" (Omar N. Bradley). Virtuous
> implies moral excellence and loftiness of character; in a
> narrower sense it refers to sexual chastity: "The life of
> the nation is secure only while the nation is honest,
> truthful, and virtuous" (Frederick Douglass). Righteous
> emphasizes moral uprightness and especially the absence of
> guilt or sin; when it is applied to actions, reactions, or
> impulses, it often implies justifiable outrage: "The
> effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much"
> (James 5:16). "He was . . . stirred by righteous wrath"
> (John Galsworthy).
> ------------------------------------------
> Science
> The observation, identification, description, experimental
> investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
> Such activities restricted to a class of natural phenomena.
> Such activities applied to an object of inquiry or study.
> Methodological activity, discipline, or study: I've got
> packing a suitcase down to a science.
> An activity that appears to require study and method: the
> science of purchasing.
> Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.
> ----------------------------------------
>