Joan - You have a gift for making the most complex issue seem easy to understand. I wish that you could write for the President. He could use some clarity in trying to explain his positions. Admiringly, Bill Isbell ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ At 11:16 PM 7/19/2007, you wrote: >i thought that now might be a good time to dust the ole paper and >give it a reprint and see if it still holds up...lemme know, ok? > >Stem Cells, Cloning-the Science behind all of the Rhetoric > > > >Out there on the political battlefield, sides have been taken, round >after round has been fired, causalities sustained by both sides, but >in my view, everything is obliterated by a shroud of smoke which >fills the air and makes it almost impossible to think straight. The >cause of this smokescreen is language: words that are as powerful as >flamethrowers and words that ignite fierce reactions from both sides. > > > > I am Joan Snyder. Many of you know me as a wife and mom and a > parishioner at St. Edward Catholic Church in Chillicothe, IL. Still > others know me as a 51 year old woman who has been diagnosed with > Parkinson's Disease for 13 years; an activist and a fundraiser. > Those who know me at all, know that for years I have been walking a > tightrope between the controversial, moral and ethical problems > that have surrounded those with my disease, Alzheimer's (which > killed my father), ALS, spinal chord injury, heart disease, > diabetes and other devastating diseases that could possibly be > cured with the stem cell research and the cloning going on now in > the science community. > > > >I am hoping that medical research has finally given us an answer >which will ultimately allow me to feel both that I have not >compromised my Catholic Pro-Life beliefs nor have I turned my back >on the many thousands of fellow PWP's (People With Parkinson's) whom >I have gotten to know in person and on the web-looking at them as if >in a mirror, watching their slow, downward progression mimic mine. > > > > Let us begin with definitions of some of the scariest words out there: > >STEM CELLS-Undifferentiated, primitive cells with the ability both >to multiply and to differentiate into specific kinds of cells. Stem >cells hold the promise of allowing researchers to grow specialized >cells or tissue, which could be used to treat injuries or disease. >There are different types of stem cells and different ways of >harvesting (gathering these precious cells). I will talk about these >differences later. > > > >CLONING-Cloning is the creation of multiple copies of a single >molecule, cell or virus. There are many types of cloning, most of >which are now commonplace in science. Cloning has allowed scientists >to develop powerful new drugs and to produce insulin and useful >bacteria in the lab. It also allows researchers to track the origins >of biological weapons, catch criminals and free innocent people and >produce more plants and animals to an undernourished world population. > >REPRODUCTIVVE CLONING-is the use of cloning technology to create a >child. It entails taking a fertilized egg and implanting it into a >woman's uterus. I find the entire concept abhorrent, immoral and >completely unethical. I think that this kind of research should be >shut down and it is something that should be banned right away. > >THERAPEUTIC CLONING /SCNT (SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER)-this >involves removing the contents of an UNFERTILIZED egg cell, >replacing it with the nucleus of a "somatic cell" (a skin, heart, >or a nerve cell for example) and stimulating this cell to begin >dividing. Once the cell begins dividing, stem cells can be extracted >5-6 days later and used for research. SCNT does NOT utilize a >fertilized egg and it does NOT produce an embryo to be implanted in >a woman's womb therefore SCNT does NOT produce a child. > >The words "stem cell" create a powerful, explosive reaction in >people on both sides of the abortion issue. The fact is that stem >cells are in our own blood, fat tissues, and perhaps many other >parts of our bodies. These are adult stem cells which have already >differentiated themselves into the kind of cell that they have >become. It is thought that with further research, these may be part >of a cure for disease.but no one knows for sure. > >There are also stem cells that can be harvested from umbilical cord >blood which is routinely discarded after a baby is born. Around the >nation, cord blood banks are being set up to help doctors and >families donate their umbilical cord for research. > >Dr. Michel Levesque has been doing work which uses the patient's own >neural stem cells. He removed neural stem cells from the patient's >brain, cultured them in the lab for months to produce several >million stem cells and then implanted them into the part of the >brain that is affected by the lack of dopamine producing cells. Thus >far, his work holds tremendous promise and then there is the >research being conducted right here in Peoria by Dr. Rick Weber who >is an Associate Professor of Immunopharmacology and Microbiology >here at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, who is >working on his project which involves activated leukacytes utilizing >the white blood cells of the patient's own blood. > >The problem lies herein-at the very mention of the words stem cells, >people tend to forget that there are many kinds of stem cells out >there that need to be researched. Embryonic stem cells are the >flashpoint that both sides of the abortion issue are reacting to >when stem cells are mentioned. These must be harvested from the >embryos which are aborted. I cannot reconcile taking a life for >giving a life. There are serious trains of thought being argued >about the "leftover" embryos that are created by a couple using >in-vitro fertilization and which are routinely destroyed by clinics >and hospitals each day. It is at this point that the clouds of >uncertainty roll in: > >Which is more pro-life: to allow the continued destruction of these >embryos which will never become children because they are destined >never to be transplanted in a woman's womb? Or is it more pro-life >to use these discarded embryos to start new stem cell lines for >research thus giving them meaning and dignity?. I have to admit to >not knowing the answer to this thorny and moralistic hot potato, but >I can tell you that years of watching this disease take my friends >away, little by little.sometimes makes me question my own beliefs. > >So, this brings us back to the issue of cloning. I maintain that >there is a world of difference between reproductive >cloning-something which should be banned immediately and therapeutic >cloning. Therapeutic cloning offers great promise for curing deadly >and terrible diseases. Therapeutic cloning saves lives; it doesn't >create lives. > >I'm hoping that I have helped somewhat in clearing up some of the >misconceptions and maybe hold out some hope that there may be some >common ground where the pro-life and the pro-choice people can come >together in a combined effort to eradicate the devastation and the >suffering of so many. > > > >joan blessington snyder 55/17' >www.calipso-pd,org >'Hang tough.......no way through it but to do it." >Chris in the Morning Northern Exposure > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn >/ > > > >-- >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Free Edition. >Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.11/909 - Release Date: >7/20/2007 4:39 PM Bill Isbell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn Santa Barbara , California