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San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 3, 2001 Letters to Business Stem cell talk is irrelevant Editor -- Tom Abate's May 28 article, "Embryonic stem cell debate is more than science vs. religion," misses the point completely. The real issue is about people who are sick, suffering and dying. The subtleties of the arguments among clerics, scientists, bio- entrepreneurs and politicians are irrelevant. Most arguments against the use of embryonic stem cells revolve around the federal government funding research that tinkers with "unborn babies." The National Institutes of Health has already established strict guidelines for funding this work. It requires that the cells be derived from surplus embryos that have been donated at in-vitro fertilization clinics because they are surplus to the needs of the couple and "the embryos are donated with the written informed consent of the progenitors." More than 13,000 sick people have signed a petition to President Bush and Secretary Tommy Thompson of Health and Human Services urging them to provide federal funding for this research. If you agree, please tell your representatives. LEE AUBRY San Francisco Address all correspondence to Letters to Business, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103, or send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Include your name, address and phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=chronicle/archive/2001/06/03/BU227760.DTL&type=business ******** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn