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Support life _ support research on stem cells Friday, July 6, 2001 Despite too-little exercise and residual fondness for things unhealthy like junk food and cigarettes, Americans as a whole are living longer than ever, as epitomized by a Coldwater woman, Maud Farris-Luse, who claims to be 114 years old. Yet very serious life-shortening diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, are still very much with us. There is great promise for a cure for these and other killer diseases in embryonic stem-cell research. However, the fact that these are human cells derived from in-vitro fertilization have raised questions over whether this amounts to tampering with human life _ and has led President Bush to consider cutting federal research funds. That would be a mistake, as we see it. The research would proceed much more quickly with federal contributions adding to private money. Moreover, the fact is that such cells, which give rise to all the body's organs and tissues, would simply be thrown away anyway. So often when religion and science collide, there is little middle ground. But in this case there seems to be some room for nuance discussion. Even arch-conservative abortion foes like Sen. Orrin Hatch now find themselves on the side of stem-cell research. "I have searched my conscience," he said last week. "I just cannot equate a child living in the womb, with moving toes and fingers and a beating heart, with an embryo in a freezer." President Bush could easily resolve his opposition to abortion by stating a sincere a desire to prolong life. Sen. Hatch has written the president to say that research on these so-called master cells is "legal, scientifically compelling and ethically sound." And his opposition to any destruction of living human embryos on the government's part could be solved by carefully removing the stem cells from the embryos themselves before research is conducted. Bush promised to revoke the Clinton policy on stem-cell research, but soon after taking office decided to hold off, pending a review of the science and ethics involved in the research. His final decision will go far in determining whether research funds are included in the Department of Health and Human Services' budget next fall. Meanwhile, a large segment of the scientific community, including 80 Nobel laureates and 112 university presidents, have pleaded with the president not to halt funding. What effect their arguments will ultimately have is uncertain, given the relatively little heed the president has given to scientific opinion on such matters as missile defense and global warming. We hope he assents. A president who considers himself as strongly pro-life as Bush does could hardly do otherwise. http://mu.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20010706medit6mnewe.frm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn