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Ruth Clark, Dr. Olson and list,

Thank you for your comments and stimulating me to put these thoughts on paper.   I
have no problem with people who are anti-abortion for themselves.  The choice is a
serious and personal one and coersion- especially by terrorism- either to have or
not have an abortion has no place in this society .

I understand and accept your problem with abortion. It should be noted that fetal
transplants are almost certainly an interim step in the treatment of PD.  The pig
cell transplants and ultimately the stem cell research provide a much greater hope
for the long run.  The data gained from the fetal transplants provides the
information necessary to make these attempts.

Also a point of clarification.  In the process in which stem cells are grown the
source of the original cells is in vitro fertilization. Nobody is ever pregnant.
The embryo starts "life" in a petri dish and the cells unless implanted into a
woman have no possibility of becoming a human being. Government funding for this
research is currently blocked and it is being funded by private corporations who
intend to patent these cell lines.

Now is this the top of the "slippery slope" that the hard-line pro lifers fear?
Does research into finding cures for PD, spinal cord injuries, and diabetes using
these cells put us on the road to A Society of death or is it the mark of a
compassionate technological society which strives to improve the health and
quality of life for its citizens?

If you take the position that a human embryo is a person with the same humanity as
an organism who is able to live outside the womb, who relates to those around
him/her, and  who has the ability to love and be loved- then maybe we are on the
way to creating a society of death.  By that logic then we should put  our
resources not only in stopping abortion but preventing spontaneous miscarriage no
matter how deformed the fetus may be since a large percentage of pregnancies end
this way naturally. Carrying this to its logical conclusion, we should make as a
national priority development of methods of detecting fertilization even before
implantation and help that zygote to survive. And while we're at it given times of
limited recourses let's put the research money allocated for diseases primarily of
the aged  like Parkinson's  Research toward the preservation of the life of all
fertilized eggs since this is probably the major killer of young defenseless
human life. We should then,  since they are involved in murder no different than
shooting someone in a liquor store hold up try and convict all women who have
abortions and reserve cells for them on death row.

But, I believe that potential human life differs from humanity.  The
compassionate technological society has the duty to utilize that technology  to
relieve human suffering.  A zygote and a fetus are potential human life and that
shouldn't be taken lightly.  But to take the position that they are human  puts us
on a different slippery slope which followed to its logical conclusion would have
severe adverse consequences to society- outlawing of certain types of birth
control and abortion,  millions of unwanted children,  poverty and starvation and
the general deterioration of the quality of life for the living.

When does human life begin and when does it end?  I certainly do not know.  That
is the job for theologians and medical ethicists to decide in conjunction with
doctors and patients to attempt to reach a societal consensus . But until that
happens (and  I doubt whether we will see it in our lives) as long as we live in a
pluralistic society it is not the right of one person or group to chose or limit
choice  for another. If one believes that abortion is a sin then you must also
believe that those who involve themselves in abortions will ultimately need to
face the God's Judgment.  And also if babies are being slaughtered then God has a
reason for it and is taking care of them in a better place than Earth The failure
to permit others to make a "wrong choice"-  even if it leads to their damnation in
the afterlife-  is certain to make living in this society  for everyone Hell on
Earth for all of us.

In Memory of Dr. Sleppian,

Charlie

Charles T. Meyer, MD


".Joan Waterman" wrote:

> I consider myself pro life, but it seems to me to be such a personal thing
> that had no business of having become such a political football! I have had
> problems with the issue of fetal tissue research. I can only hope that another
> solution will quickly be found for curing PD.
>
> I can also thank for those in the past who chose not for abortion but for
> life.  My dear friend and caregiver is adopted and I have nieces, nephews,
> grand nieces and nephews (two of them Korean). They are all blessings to their
> parents, to the family, and to society in general. I would rather live with my
> PD than deny their right to life and happiness!
>
> This is only my conscience speaking, and many of my friends don't agree with
> me So everyone has their own feelings about it.
>
> Ruth Clark 67/10

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Ruth Clark, Dr. Olson and list,
<p>Thank you for your comments and stimulating me to put these thoughts
on paper.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have no problem with people who are anti-abortion
for themselves.&nbsp; The choice is a serious and personal one and coersion-
especially by terrorism- either to have or not have an abortion has no
place in this society .
<p>I understand and accept your problem with abortion. It should be noted
that fetal transplants are almost certainly an interim step in the treatment
of PD.&nbsp; The pig cell transplants and ultimately the stem cell research
provide a much greater hope for the long run.&nbsp; The data gained from
the fetal transplants provides the information necessary to make these
attempts.
<p>Also a point of clarification.&nbsp; In the process in which stem cells
are grown the source of the original cells is<i> in vitro fertilization.
<b>Nobody is ever pregnant. </b></i>The embryo starts "life" in a petri
dish and the cells unless implanted into a woman have no possibility of
becoming a human being. Government funding for this&nbsp; research is currently
blocked and it is being funded by private corporations who intend to patent
these cell lines.
<p>Now is this the top of the "slippery slope" that the hard-line pro lifers
fear? Does research into finding cures for PD, spinal cord injuries, and
diabetes using these cells put us on the road to <b>A Society of death</b>
or is it the mark of a <b>compassionate technological society</b> which
strives to improve the health and quality of life for its citizens?
<p>If you take the position that a human embryo is a <i>person</i> with
the same humanity as an organism who is able to live outside the womb,
who relates to those around him/her, and&nbsp; who has the ability to love
and be loved- then maybe we are on the way to creating a<b> society of
death.&nbsp; </b>By that logic then we should put&nbsp; our resources not
only in stopping abortion<b> </b>but preventing spontaneous miscarriage
no matter how deformed the fetus may be since a large percentage of pregnancies
end this way naturally. Carrying this to its logical conclusion, we should
make as a national priority development of methods of detecting fertilization
even before implantation and help that zygote to survive. And while we're
at it given times of limited recourses let's put the research money allocated
for diseases primarily of the aged&nbsp; like Parkinson's&nbsp; Research
toward the preservation of the life of all fertilized eggs since this is
probably the major killer of young defenseless&nbsp; human life. We should
then,&nbsp; since they are involved in murder no different than shooting
someone in a liquor store hold up try and convict all women who have abortions
and reserve cells for them on death row.
<p>But, I believe that potential human life differs from humanity.&nbsp;
The&nbsp;<b> compassionate technological society</b> has the duty to utilize
that technology&nbsp; to relieve human suffering.&nbsp; A zygote and a
fetus are potential human life and that shouldn't be taken lightly.&nbsp;
But to take the position that they are human&nbsp; puts us on a different
slippery slope which followed to its logical conclusion would have severe
adverse consequences to society- outlawing of certain types of birth control
and abortion,&nbsp; millions of unwanted children,&nbsp; poverty and starvation
and the general deterioration of the quality of life for the living.
<p>When does human life begin and when does it end?&nbsp; I certainly do
not know.&nbsp; That is the job for theologians and medical ethicists to
decide in conjunction with doctors and patients to attempt to reach a societal
consensus . But until that happens (and&nbsp; I doubt whether we will see
it in our lives) as long as we live in a pluralistic society it is not
the right of one person or group to chose or limit choice&nbsp; for another.
If one believes that abortion is a sin then you must also believe that
those who involve themselves in abortions will ultimately need to face
the God's Judgment.&nbsp; And also if babies are being slaughtered then
God has a reason for it and is taking care of them in a better place than
Earth The failure to permit others to make a "wrong choice"-&nbsp; even
if it leads to their damnation in the afterlife-&nbsp; is certain to make
living in this society&nbsp; for everyone Hell on Earth for all of us.
<p>In Memory of Dr. Sleppian,
<p>Charlie
<p>Charles T. Meyer, MD
<br>&nbsp;
<p>".Joan Waterman" wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>I consider myself pro life, but it seems to me to
be such a personal thing
<br>that had no business of having become such a political football! I
have had
<br>problems with the issue of fetal tissue research. I can only hope that
another
<br>solution will quickly be found for curing PD.
<p>I can also thank for those in the past who chose not for abortion but
for
<br>life.&nbsp; My dear friend and caregiver is adopted and I have nieces,
nephews,
<br>grand nieces and nephews (two of them Korean). They are all blessings
to their
<br>parents, to the family, and to society in general. I would rather live
with my
<br>PD than deny their right to life and happiness!
<p>This is only my conscience speaking, and many of my friends don't agree
with
<br>me So everyone has their own feelings about it.
<p>Ruth Clark 67/10</blockquote>
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