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Dear Bob, It appears you have an uncomfortable dilemma on your hands, with which only you can make peace: you wrote: ...I am pro-life and I believe that once conception has occurred, a human embryo/fetus is a human being.... ...I do not object to stem cell research. What I object to is the casual "discarding" of human beings. I do not oppose IVF, either, but the practice of "discarding" the embryos bothers the h*ll out of me for the reasons stated above.... What should be done with the remaining embryos after IVF that would bring some comfort level to the dilemma above; given that there will be excess embryos after IVF, and given that you favor IVF, and given you are not against stem-cell research, but are against stem cells being extracted from excess embryos with donor permission after IVF, and given they will be discarded and incinerated without the donor's/"parents'" permission, and given IVF will not be done away with? In my view, the ones being used for stem cells are not discarded, but rescued or salvaged to mend or save lives, just as donated organs are. Stem cells are already being used this way. I'm especially comfortable with this, because they were not created to be harvested for donation; they are left over as a consequence of bringing a child into the world. I feel the ones that are not donated are sinfully and shamefully going to waste. This, for me, brings great comfort and peace. Peace, Charlotte Mancuso "Robert A. Fink, M. D." wrote: > On 4 Oct 00, at 12:28, Charles T. Meyer, M.D. wrote: > > > With all due respect IMHO your thinking is more "scary" than the > > procedure being discussed here. Anything that could have helped that > > child short of > > taking the life of a fully formed human being should have been tried. > > Charlie and group, > > I really don't want to start a flame war about this. I am pro-life and I > believe that once conception has occurred, a human embryo/fetus is a > human being. I believe that there are certain situations where it is > justified to take a human life (self-defense),; but to *create* a human > life for the sake of sacrificing it, to me, is asking for a Hitlerian > "slippery slope". It is, to me, not unlike "growing" human babies so > that one could "harvest" organs for transplantation. > > I do not object to stem cell research. What I object to is the casual > "discarding" of human beings. I do not oppose IVF, either, but the > practice of "discarding" the embryos bothers the h*ll out of me for > the reasons stated above. > > My opinions are strongly held (Charlie, we have debated this before, > and I have not changed my mind). Let's leave them that way. > > Best, > > Bob > > Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S. > Professional Corporation > 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 > Berkeley, California 94704-2636 USA > Phone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 > WWW: <http://www.dovecom.com/rafink> > > "Ex Tristitia Virtus"