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A very well thought out letter. Did you send it to the President? His job is certainly not an easy one. Norma ROBERT A MARTONE wrote: > List, > > My letter to the editor was published today in the Texas > Polk County Enterprise. > They added the title "Seems Morally Justified" > > Bob Martone > [log in to unmask] > http://www.samlink.com/~bmartone > > ------------------------------------ > Pro-Life! Is there a choice? > > In a few days the President will announce his decision > regarding Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. > Many diseases stand to benefit enormously from this > research. These include Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Diabetes, > and heart disease. Embryonic stem cell research looks like > it may be the best chance yet for developing the cures. My > wife Nancy has suffered with Parkinson's Disease for 26 > years. Might this be her chance? > > The stem cell controversy deals in part with the retrieval > of cells from left over zygotes (pre embryos) that remain > unused after a couple successfully achieves pregnancy > through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The cells left over > are frozen and after some period of time destroyed. The use > of these cells in the search for a cure for Parkinson's and > other diseases is the issue. > > Some argue that since end of life is now legally defined as > being "brain dead", that beginning of life perhaps should be > defined when there is brain activity. This would suggest > that life begins at about eight weeks after conception. The > exact moment of when life starts remains controversial. > > I have been reassessing my own system of values as it > relates > to this complex subject. It seems to me that the issues fall > into two categories: The first is science and the second is > belief systems. > > The science of a single life form has a starting and an > ending point. The belief systems that interpret those > points are almost never ending. Science relies heavily on > knowledge, quantitative knowledge. Belief systems involve > reverence for a supernatural power tempered by knowledge. > Ethics and morality seem to flow logically from the > application of belief systems and knowledge. Some place > greater emphasis on the belief system, others place greater > emphasis on the > science and others try to wrestle with the two. For me it > has been nearly impossible to separate these two issues. My > belief system is that life should be protected and preserved > and that life begins at conception. My knowledge now causes > me to challenge that notion. I now know that females are > born with more eggs than can ever be used during > childbearing years. I also know that males are capable of > producing more sperm than could ever be used to fertilize > their spouses' eggs. Therefore the potential to produce life > through traditionally acceptable means (sanctioned > monogamous relationships) allows most potential life giving > gametes to die. > > In vitro fertilization takes the problem one step further. > Many zygotes (pre-embryos) are left over and frozen in case > they are needed for another try at pregnancy. The > pluripotent stem cells found in these zygotes can be > extracted and coaxed into becoming a variety of > potentially life saving cells that may soon be able to cure > diseases like Parkinson's. Today most of these zygote cells > are allowed to die. > > As a pro-life thinker today I find myself asking why all > this death? Why are these cells left to go unused? Could it > be that the supernatural power that I do believe exists is > revealing new life opportunities to me or am I somehow > violating the ethical bounds imposed by my traditional > belief systems. > > My leaning today is to allow the exploration of these cells > to proceed in a guarded and regulated way. I would proceed > based on the knowledge we possess and the body of belief > systems including religious beliefs that provide the moral > and ethical constraints that have served mankind so well. > > Science may be able to establish when life begins but each > belief system will continue to spin that knowledge to > support their particular view. While the taking of any life > troubles me, and probably always will, my spin on this > knowledge is that the current use of excess zygotes/embryo's > from in vitro fertilization to end the killing caused by > disease seems morally and ethically justified. > > To express your views call the White House comments line > 1-202-456-1414 (9AM-5PM Eastern M-F). You can make a > difference. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn