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STEM CELL BATTLES #224 - Wednesday, September13, 2006 - IF THEY SAY, WE SAY...One page of Answers to Loaded Stem Cell Questions Since life begins at conception, doesn't stem cell research kill babies? Stem cell research neither begins life nor ends it: it is cells, cells, nothing but cells: no children are involved at all-except maybe the child whose life is being saved. What about the list of 58 diseases which adult stem cell therapies treat or cure? Both adult and embryonic stem cell research have value, and should go forward. But the list of alleged adult stem cell successes is a piece of propaganda made up by an employee of a religious organization. It has been thoroughly discredited. Embryonic stem cell research has produced no cures-why should it be supported? Think back to when the Wright brothers flew the first airplane at Kitty Hawk. Eight years later, there were no professional airlines-should we have given up on flight? Embryonic stem cell research only began in 1998, but it already demonstrates enormous promise. Didn't' President Bush allow funding of embryonic stem cell research? President Bush's policy allowed funding for a very small number of stem cell lines, all of which are now old. They are considered unreliable, and tainted by rat feeder layers. How Can You Support Human Cloning? I don't. Neither I nor any responsible scientist or organization supports human reproductive cloning, which would be dangerous to mother and child. It is morally repugnant, and useless, too-we can make plenty of people the old fashioned way. But aren't you in favor of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer? Isn't that cloning? Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT, sometimes called therapeutic cloning) has nothing to do with cloning people, and everything to do with cells for cure. SCNT is supported by Nancy Reagan, Michael J. Fox, former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the American Medical Association, and hundreds of medical and scientific organizations. SCNT is a slippery slope: if we allow SCNT, will not reproductive cloning follow? No. It is physiologically impossible to create a child without implanting a blastocyst in the womb. SCNT involves neither fertilization by sperm, nor any implantation. "Left over" embryos from In Vitro Fertility (IVF) clinics should be adopted. Great! But when a decision has been made to dispose of unwanted embryos (there are currently 400,000 in frozen storage) potentially life-saving research should be considered. Don Reed, www.stemcellbattles.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn