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Carrie, It is not you Below is all I can do. My letter will be published in The Californian tomorrow. I doubt if Mr. Chapman understood what I was talking about. I hope you can from this letter. Dear Editor: I know I have to wait 2 weeks to respond, but here it is. I am dying and don't have lots of time. I called Mr. Chapman to verify his beliefs. I can do a pro/con article if you will let me. Believe me, I know the arguments on both sides. Time is running out. "The ethical decisions about SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transplantation) or therapeutic cloning should be made by people who understand the research. In response to Ezra Chapman's letter 2-19-04, I was never talking about babies or fetuses, but an unfertilized egg, a germ cell (no sperm needed, a kind of immaculate conception) and my own DNA from somatic cells. I do not believe this blastocyst, invivsible to the naked eye, of pluripotent cells (cells that can become anything) 4-11 days old is a human being. I asked whose life I was taking if I theoretically used this therapy to cure my Parkinson's disease. No one has ever answered that questiion. It will take years before therapies are available for people with Huntington's Disease, ALS, MS, diabetes, Alzheimer's, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's. The research desperately needs to be done to learn how cells, not babies, behave. The US, thanks to our President and his buddies, will not lead the world in this endeavor. In fact, if they have their way, if I went to South Korea or Singapore for treatment, on return to the US I could be fined thousands of dollars and jailed. Mr. Chapman does believe a blastocyst is a "baby" and is a sincere gentleman who to his credit, is at least consistent in his religious beliefs, opposing both birth control and in vitro fertilization as well. " Rayilyn Browm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn