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On 12 Sep 2004 at 16:44, Charles T. Meyer wrote: > I believe that human life is sacred and must be protected. But I > define human life as beginning at birth. Quality of life is also > critical. I guess this is consistent with my religious tradition but it > is I recognize as largely arbitrary. While some might disagree, it is > a greater evil to allow suffering to continue in the world and to throw > out the embryos than to experiment and therefore possibly relieve the > suffering of those of us who have illnesses like PD. Would you choose > the life of your one or two week embryo in a petri dish over the > life of your living breathing child or your spouse or yourself?. I > would. make the choice without thinking twice . Charlie, Here is where we disagree, and it is basic. I DO believe that human life begins with conception. There are, as when dealing with "already-born" human beings, some instances where killing of such human beings is justified (self-defense, a so-called "just war"; and for some, capital punishment); but I believe (along with many) that human life is present in a conceptus. >>If you regard flushing the product of conception as murder then remember that most people do not hold that view and the definition of the beginning of life is arbitrary and comes from religious beliefs and varies even within religions. If we are to survive as a democracy we cannot inflict our religious beliefs on one another as much as we may disagree with what they may be saying or doing.<< To those people who truly believe that flushing the conceptus is murder, opposition to this is as important as those who, for example, oppose capital punishment. Did the "majority" of Germans approve of the Nuremberg Laws? I suspect that they did, but also that there was a significant minority who opposed such. Who was right? >>The "slippery slope" argument is bogus. One could potentially use it to stop any kind of research- such as genetic research because it may lead to people wanting to abort pregnancies because of the possibility of genetic anomalies. Should we stop that type of research because it has the "potential" for use in a way that you disagree. Or perhaps not teach evolution because it may undermine ''creationist " biblical doctrine and disrupt peoples faith in the literal interpretation of the Bible. We can prevent sliding down the "slippery. slope " by remaining alert. And with people on our side like Oren Hatch and Nancy Reagan and George Schultz I don't think you have to worry that Stem Cell Research will lead to an increased acceptance of infanticide or even abortion or other fears that the " Right to life" people have.<< Perhaps we should not totally "stop" the research, but it needs to be carefully controlled and overseen by those who would not "profit" by such. In most universities and medical centers, all human experimentation is covered by very specific rules and regulations, and even then, there have been instances of serious damage to patients due to a failure in the oversight procedures (a genetic cancer treatment at several major universities recently was found to be deadly and was finally stopped). With all due respect (and I respect Mrs. Reagan), Nancy Reagan is "way off base" with her attitudes about stem cells and Alzheimer's disease. There is not one iota of evidence that Alzheimer's disease is one in which stems cells will prove to be a fertile approach to cure of. >>Would you choose the life of your one or two week embryo in a petri dish over the life of your living breathing child or your spouse or yourself?. I would. make the choice without thinking twice .<< I would not be quite so glib about the above "choice". It is, for me, not an easy choice. I would think long and hard and I cannot predict which choice I would make. It is unlikely, however, that I would be responsible for having embryos derived from me "in a Petri dish" lying around. Best, Bob ********************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C. 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 Telephone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 WWW: http://www.rafink.com/ mailto:[log in to unmask] "Ex Tristitia Virtus" ********************************************* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn