With regard to the question of personhood, I would like to share with those who may not have seen
it, a copy of the conclusion my husband, Joe, and I have come to after years of thought and study
regarding the question.
_____
THE GIFT OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
Two separate issues involved in the question of embryonic stem cell research beg for answers.
The first is scientific - can it be done? Is there potential in the research? The second issue is
moral, ethical or theological - should it be done?
The same questions being asked today were raised with in vitro fertilization and have historically
been raised with numerous scientific processes that are currently accepted as routine, such as organ
transplantation.
An overwhelming majority of mainstream scientists agree that the new frontier of embryonic stem cell
research has great scientific potential for life enhancing medical treatments.
This brings us to the moral, ethical and theological dilemma which begs the question: When does life
begin?
As the centuries have gone by, God has revealed more and more of His wonders to us as we have become
ready to receive them. He has given us the ability, coupled with the responsibility, to recognize
His gifts as He presents them.
Scientists now recognize that, in the early stages of development of the embryo (which is not a
fetus) there is a 10-14 day period before cells begin to differentiate into specific organs, such as
brain, heart and neural tube. The embryonic stem cells that scientists use for research typically
consist of 150-200 five-day-old microscopically small, undifferentiated (identical) cells in a Petri
dish. Until these cells differentiate, they have the potential to become one child, twins or
triplets.
The common belief is that each of us has our own unique soul. We assume twins don't share the same
soul. Although a single cell can divide and eventually become twins at this undifferentiated stage,
at no stage would a soul divide.
Therefore, these five-day-old undifferentiated cells, so small that they fit inside the eye of a
needle, are not human beings, but human cells that are God's gift for improving the quality of our
lives.
Throughout the history of mankind God has continued to reveal ever-increasing life-enhancing
knowledge, from herbs to the microscope, surgery, pharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine. Our belief
is that now God has chosen to reveal His gift of undifferentiated cells as a brief window of
opportunity to provide a means to sustain and prolong life and has given us the gift of
differentiating cells to create life. For both gifts, we thank God.
Nina
-----Original Message-----
From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
rayilynlee
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 12:09 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: personhood
Paula, if you believe personhood begins at implantation you should have not
have any trouble with nuclear transfer or embryonic stem cell research.
Your position would be like that of Mormon Sen. Orrin Hatch. The cells and
research we are talking about takes place in a petri dish, not a womb.
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paula Nixon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 11:52 PM
Subject: Re: CA lawsuit for embryo Mary Scott Doe
> Amanda,
> Isn't a person that is unconscious, perhaps under anesthesia a living
> being? How about a 6 month fetus, that could live if it were born. The
> prenatal age of viability keeps getting pushed back farther and farther.
> Maybe it will be 5 months. Isn't it still a person? If it is born full
> term, it requires constant attention to keep it alive. Isn't it still a
> person? That frozen lump, it's not a dog or a monkey, it's human. Given
> food and oxygen it will be a person. I personally think person hood
> begins at implantation, but this does give room for ethical studies. It's
> not cut and dried and not necessarily the way we want it to be.
> Paula
>
> Amanda Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> hang on - person = conscious individual = living being, which not = small
> frozen lump with no functions indicating the above ?
>
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