thanks rayilynlee for posting this amazing man's amazing column.
clearly, don reed is the vioce of reason when it comes to the red-hot
debate over stem cells. this column should be printed on the front page
of every newspaper in America and on the front of every church bulliten,
and splashed across the tv. only when Americans stop equating embryonic
stem cell research with abortion will we ever get what what we need from
the federal government. this column only goes to re-inforce something
that i have long preachd; i am going to reprint an article that i first
posted here a few years ago:

Stem Cells and Cloning -- The Science behind the Rhetoric

by Joan Snyder

Out there on the political battlefield of stem cell research, sides have
been taken, many rounds fired, and causalities sustained by both sides.
So much smoke fills the air that it’s almost impossible to think
straight. The cause of the confusion is often language: words as
powerful as flamethrowers ignite fierce reactions from both sides.

I am Joan Snyder. Many of you know me as a wife and mom and a
parishioner at St. Edward Catholic Church in Chillicothe, Illinois.
Others know me as a 51 year old woman who has been diagnosed with
Parkinson’s Disease for 13 years, who is an advocate and fundraiser on
behalf of people with this condition. And those who know me well have
seen for years now that I walk a moral tightrope regarding the
controversial ethical problems that have challenged not only people with
my disease, but also those with Alzheimer’s (which killed my father),
juvenile diabetes, ALS, spinal chord injury, stroke, heart disease, and
other devastating conditions that could possibly be cured through stem
cell research, including so-called “therapeutic cloning.”

I am hopeful that medical research will provide us with new remedies
whose approval will require neither that I compromise my Catholic
Pro-Life beliefs, nor that I turn my back on the many thousands of
fellow PWP’s (people with Parkinson’s). I have gotten to know a good
number of them, both in person and on the web –and as if looking into a
mirror, I’ve seen their slow, downward pantomime. And I’ve also learned
about some of the complexities of this research, and about the
confusions that cloud the essential scientific and ethical issues.

I’d like to begin by noting that there are some quite thoughtful,
anti-abortion Christians – including people like Nancy Reagan and
Senators Orrin Hatch and Strom Thurmond – who strongly support
therapeutic cloning research. Some Catholic Theologians, such as Thomas
Shannon, also support this research. Let’s examine the issue, and see if
we can understand why.

Here are definitions of some of the scary words out there:

_STEM CELLS _--Undifferentiated, primitive cells with the ability to
reproduce themselves and to differentiate into specific kinds of cells.
If we – or, I should say, the scientists among us -- can understand
better how stem cells grow and specialize – then we can use them to
treat injuries and diseases. There are different types of stem cells and
different ways of generating and gathering them.

_BIOMEDICAL CLONING -- _Cloning is a quite general term in biology that
denotes the creation of multiple, identical copies of a gene, cell or
virus. There are many types of cloning, some of which are now
commonplace in biomedicine. Cloning has allowed scientists to develop
powerful new drugs and to produce insulin and useful bacteria in the
lab. It is one among several new genetic tools that allow researchers to
track the origins of biological weapons, identify criminals, and produce
foods more efficiently. Some of these scientific applications are
rightly controversial, but what I’ve discovered is that so-called
“therapeutic cloning,” in particular, is entirely safe and ethical. But
more about that below.

_REPRODUCTIVE CLONING –_ This is the use of cloning technology to create
a child. It aims to take cells from a person (or sheep, creating Dolly)
and use them to create a genetically identical organism. I find the
concept of human reproductive cloning abhorrent and immoral. I think
that this kind of research should be banned right away.

_THERAPEUTIC CLONING _(technically known as SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR
TRANSFER, or SCNT) --This involves removing the nucleus of an
unfertilized egg cell, and replacing it with the nucleus of a “somatic
cell” (for example, an adult skin, heart, or nerve cell) and stimulating
this cell to divide. Once the cell begins dividing, stem cells can be
extracted within one week and used for research. The SCNT cell remains
in a laboratory on a Petri dish, and the process does NOT involve sperm
at all, does NOT use a fertilized egg, and does NOT produce an embryo to
be implanted in a woman’s uterus.

The words “stem cell” sometimes evoke an explosive reaction in people on
both sides of the abortion issue. The fact is that stem cells are in our
own blood, brains, and other parts of our bodies. Scientists think that
with further research, these adult stem cells may help us cure disease
like Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes and many other diseases … but no one
knows for sure. There is the research being conducted right here in
Peoria by Dr. Rick Weber who is an Associate Professor of
Immunopharmacology and Microbiology here at the University of Illinois
College of Medicine, who is working on stem cell research that uses a
patient’s own white blood cells to help cure that patient.

There are also stem cells that can be harvested from umbilical cord
blood that is routinely discarded after a baby is born. Around the
nation, cord blood banks are being set up to help doctors and families
donate their umbilical cord for research.

We would all favor this humane stem cell research, if we understand it.
The problem lies in the very mention of the words “stem cells.” People
tend to forget that there are many kinds of stem cells that scientists
work with. “Embryonic stem cells” are the flashpoint that ignites both
sides of the abortion issue. Sometimes these are harvested from
“leftover” embryos that are created by a couple using in-vitro
fertilization. These embryos are routinely destroyed by clinics and
hospitals each day. Should they be discarded in this way? It is at this
point that clouds of uncertainty obscure our vision and raise serious
questions:

Which is more pro-life: to destroy these embryos, which will never
become children because they are not transplanted into a woman’s womb?
Or to give these embryos value by using them to advance life-saving
research? I have to admit that I don’t how to handle this ethical hot
potato. But I can tell you that over the years, watching this disease
take my life and those of my friends away little by little, sometimes
makes me deeply question my own beliefs.

So, this brings us back to the issue of cloning. The key to
understanding the issue lies in the distinction between reproductive
cloning -- which should be banned immediately -- and life-saving,
therapeutic cloning. Therapeutic cloning is entirely moral, in agreement
with the fundamental values of all of the major religions, and offers
great promise for curing terrible, fatal diseases that affect young and
old people alike. Therapeutic cloning will save lives; it cannot create
them.

I hope that I have helped to clear up some of the misconceptions about
cloning, and to find common ground where pro-life and the pro-choice
people can come together in a united effort to heal the devastation and
suffering of so many.


--
Joan Blessington Snyder   54/14
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“Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.”
Chris in the Morning      Northern Exposure

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