 |
 |
The Boston Globe Mainers have mixed reaction to stem cell research By Associated Press, 8/11/2001 12:01 PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Karen Bardo has suffered from Parkinson's disease for five years. Even though she is still able to work and even goes backpacking, she longs for a cure. So the 47-year-old Alna woman was cheering when President Bush announced he will allow limited federal funding of stem cell experiments that could lead to new treatments for her illness. ''Any research that we can get is good,'' she said. Like many Americans, Mainers are divided on the issue. The dispute over the research centers around the use of human embryos some people regard this as the taking of human life. Bush's decision ''truly was a compromise, and from the Catholic Church's point of view and church doctrine it isn't an issue you can compromise on ethically and morally,'' said Marc Mutty, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine. Others say such research is the first step to finding a cure to many debilitating disease, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. ''We're talking about very, very early embryos, five-day old embryos,'' said Julien Murphy, a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern Maine. ''When I weigh suffering of a family member with Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease with the status of a five-day-old embryo, that's a very early point on the developmental line.'' Murphy also criticized Bush's decision as too limited. Bush is ''so severely limiting stem cell research that it's going to take a whole lot longer to see what promise it really holds for curing these diseases,'' she said. Harold Jones, president of the Maine Parkinson's Society, called Bush's decision ''good enough for now,'' saying he thought Bush was balanced. ''I thought he did a wonderful job,'' Jones said. ''I admit to being Republican and all that, but I think this is one of the defining points of his presidency. It affects so many people.'' SOURCE: The Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/dailynews/223/region/Mainers_have_mixed_reaction_to:.shtml * * * [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn