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IVF procedures have taken the fertilization/conception process out of the human body. See Yvonne Perry's RIGHT TO RECOVER, Chapter Two, pages 52-53 "the profound difference between fertilization and conception is frequently forgotten. Fertilization can happen in a laboratory, but the conception of a human individual can only happen after the fertilized oocyte is implanted in the uterus." Note: my friend microbiologist Dr. Ira Roy is Hindu and she wholeheartedly supports hESCR* Ray Stem cells and the meaning of life Among religious communities, the question of embryonic stem cell research prompts soul searching about when human life begins. Different faith groups have different teachings. Below is a snapshot of views from five traditions. Keep in mind that each tradition has many* denominations and schools of thought. MIRKO PETRICEVIC Stem cells and the meaning of life (Jul 21, 2007) Sometimes debate about the ethics of stem cell research can get downright dirty. Margaret Somerville, founding director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law in Montreal, recalls one particularly graphic example. She was taking part in a public debate, she said, when her opponent shoved his finger up his nose. He then raised his hand and declared that a human embryo had no more moral status than the mucus on the tip of his finger. The gesture was actually fairly lighthearted and the audience laughed, Somerville said. But it also illustrated the crux of a high-stakes debate, one in which the possibility of developing miracle cures to alleviate human suffering is pitted against how we view, respect and disrespect life itself. The human embryo -- a woman's ovum fertilized with sperm -- and the stem cells contained within it are at the heart of the debate. Stem cells are some of the body's basic building blocks -- they can grow into blood, organs and various other tissues. Stem cells can be found in adults, aborted fetuses, placenta and umbilical cord blood. Bone marrow transplants are one form of stem-cell therapy. Stem cells in marrow can create new blood, so they are often injected into cancer patients whose marrow has been destroyed by chemotherapy. Many scientists argue that stem cells extracted from human embryos are the Holy Grail in the quest to create treatments for illnesses such as cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. And the sooner scientists can develop therapies, they argue, the sooner they can relieve peoples' suffering. Scientists who favour using stem cells from a human embryo say those stem cells show more promise than those from other sources. Embryonic stem cells multiply faster, grow for longer durations, can survive being frozen and then thawed for research purposes, and have been made to grow into a greater variety of cells than adult stem cells. But there's a hitch. Extracting stem cells from a human embryo destroys it. So embryonic stem cell research poses an ethical dilemma for people -- both secular and religious -- who believe human life begins at conception, when sperm fertilizes an egg. The debate has raged at least since scientists in the United States extracted stem cells from a human embryo in 1998. Advocates for embryonic stem cell studies argue that it's better to use embryos left over from fertility clinics -- possibly hundreds of thousands in the United States alone -- for research rather than just discarding them. In the past year, U.S. President George W. Bush twice vetoed bills that would have extended federal government funding to research involving stem cells developed from human embryos. Although the bills passed the House of Representatives, Congress didn't muster two-thirds majorities needed to override a presidential veto. In Canada, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (2004) allows research on human embryos leftover from fertility treatments, but outlaws the creation of embryos specifically for research purposes. And before scientists do research on stem cells, they must have their proposals screened by ethics panels. Somerville says she opposes research on stem cells from human embryos because of the capabilities of powerful new technology, not for religious reasons. "We've got these extraordinary new powers to affect life, including human life, in ways that no other humans ever been able to do," she said in a phone interview from Montreal . Possessing great new powers requires us to have greater responsibilities, Somerville said. She raises the spectre of factories making millions of human embryos for research. "Is it ethically wrong to transmit human life knowing that you will never give it any chance to survive? Intending to kill it and intending to use it as a manufacturing plant to make therapies for the rest of us? "Is that a disrespect for human life?" she asked. "I think it is." Somerville says society must work to relieve suffering of others, but must do it an ethical manner. It would be possible to kill a person and distribute his or her organs and tissues to help 20 other people, she notes. "I would argue they're not good ends if you've used unethical means." For Mick Bhatia, co-director of the nascent library on embryonic stem cells at McMaster University in Hamilton, it's not only ethical to do embryonic stem cell research -- it's unethical not to do it. Bhatia, who has conducted research with adult stem cells, says he finds a lot of promise in both adult and embryonic stem cells. For the past four years, Bhatia has been conducting research with stem cells developed from an embryo in the United States six years ago. Bhatia says his belief in doing the research isn't grounded in any religious perspective. "Mine is very restricted on just looking at these absolutely catastrophic diseases, disease where there really is no medication, there is no surgery," he said. "This has a potential and a promise. I feel I need to pursue it." [log in to unmask] CHRISTIANITY Many Christians consider human life to begin at conception. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, an advocacy group supported by Protestant denominations and individuals, was among groups that gave input to MPs before they passed the Assisted Human Reproduction Act in 2004. "Belief that life begins at conception informs a consistent ethical rationale for treatment of that life," said Douglas Cryer, the fellowship's director of public policy. "Any other viewpoint has to arbitrarily determine when life begins, when the soul is developed." The fellowship bases its position on Scripture. The Bible teaches that humans are made in the God's image, so we all have inherent dignity and worth, Cryer said. And Psalm 139, reads ". . . you knit me together in my mother's womb . . ." The fellowship doesn't say what should be done with human embryos left over at fertility clinics. "We would urge parents not to create more embryos than is needed for use for in vitro fertilization," he said, adding the fellowship suggests that embryos could remain frozen for either a future pregnancy or made available for adoption to another mother. The Catholic Organization for Family and Life, created in part by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, recently published a pamphlet stating the church's position that human life begins at conception. Both the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical Fellowship of Canada advocate for stem-cell research from non-embryonic sources. The United Church of Canada doesn't have an official position on embryonic stem cell research. But in its 1980 statement on abortion favouring a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, it also affirmed the fetus has "inherent value of human life." JUDAISM In Orthodox Judaism, embryonic stem cell research isn't controversial at all, said Rabbi Yosil Rosenzweig of Beth Jacob Congregation synagogue in Kitchener. Judaism favours such research for two reasons. According to the Talmud, rabbinic interpretations of the Scriptures and how to apply commandments in the contemporary world, the embryo is not human at the time of conception, he said. "Judaism does not consider an embryo a human being until it's 41 days old," Rosenzweig said. The embryo becomes a human being at 41 days old, when the tradition teaches that it is infused with a soul. Before 41 days, the embryo is considered living tissue, he said. "(It's) on the same level as an animal," Rosenzweig said. "You can do experiments on animals for the betterment of mankind." If the embryo is frozen, the time clock is stopped. "We're talking live for 41 days," Rosenzweig said. "(When) frozen, they go into suspended animation. They're in a suspended state." Judaism also allows embryonic stem cell research for another reason, he said. "Anything that will ultimately lead to saving lives is encouraged in Judaism." If there are embryos that will not or have not developed because they are left over from fertility clinics or miscarriage, "the benefit of that life form is immeasurable," he said. So using embryos that have been created for pro-creation can be used for research. However, Judaism opposes creating human embryos specifically for the purpose of scientific research, he said. "(Research) is only allowed after the fact," he said. "Once they're already formed." ISLAM Abdul Fattah, a retired Waterloo surgeon, said Islam teaches that the embryo is alive after conception, but it's not a human being. "It's living tissue, that's all," he said. According to the Sunni tradition, the fetus doesn't become human until after it receives its soul four months after conception. On the 121st day "an angel comes and blows the spirit into that individual," Fattah said, citing a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The spirit implants the individual's likes and dislikes, behaviour and fate. "Now he becomes an individual." Islam isn't against research, he said. Embryo research is allowed depending on the age of the embryo and the purpose of the research, he said. "If stem cell research is being done to promote the production of tissues, valves, new organs so that these can be utilized for treatment purposes, it is highly desirable -- it's encouraged," Fattah said. "But if the stem-cell research is being used to generate special progeny (sex-selection) and selective murder of the others, it is completely forbidden." God gives divine guidance to humans by sending messengers, like the Prophet Muhammad, so Islam's teaching that the soul is infused after 120 days is not arbitrary, he said. Embryonic stem cell research is taking place in Iran, which is overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim. Shafiq Hudda, a Shiite imam living in Kitchener, said life begins at conception and the soul is infused about three months later. "The faith of Shia Islam allows for study and research into stem cells, but the destruction or disrespect of (them) would not be allowed," he said. "The same way that a corpse would be respected, an embryo would be." BUDDHISM Ven. Deba Mitra Bhikkhu, a monk at the Phommaviharam Buddhist Temple in Kitchener, said human life begins at conception and the embryo has consciousness from the very beginning. But consciousness has many layers of awareness, he added. The embryo's consciousness is not yet fully developed, he said. Buddhists believe in the notion of karma -- the belief that a person's positive and negative actions accumulate throughout his or her lifetime. Buddhists also generally believe in reincarnation -- the notion that after death a person is re-born. Karma follows a person from one life to the next, Bhikkhu said. He hasn't studied the ethics of embryonic stem cell research, but the issue is similar to the abortion debate, he said. "From a Buddhist perspective, (abortion) is bad karma because that is the start of human life." Destroying a human embryo gives a person bad karma, even if the person believes he or she is doing it for the greater good, Bhikkhu said. "One cannot be free from the consequences of the action itself." There's a hierarchy of consequences, he added. For example, murdering a virtuous and generous person would net the killer a much worse karma than if he or she murdered a serial-killer. "It is bad karma. At the same time, if you do it for a greater reason it is justifiable, but it doesn't mean that you will just (be) totally free from the bad karma that you have committed." When it comes to such a moral dilemma, Bhikkhu said Buddhism allows individuals to decide. "The choice that they make has consequences. So they are entitled to whatever the consequences, the outcome, what choices that they make." HINDUISM For Chaitanya Jyoti, senior swami at Shri Ram Dham Hindu Temple in Kitchener, life begins at conception and the new embryo immediately has a soul. "We have no right to kill anyone deliberately," Jyoti said. As for destroying embryos in the process of working for the greater good, Jyoti said she doesn't believe a greater good will be achieved through research that's directed toward fabricating new, commercial medical therapies. Jyoti said she doesn't oppose research, but prefers that researchers try to determine the root cause of diseases rather than developing treatments, which she says only masks symptoms. "We believe the root cause of disease lies in the intellect." Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient system of medical science developed by spiritual practitioners in India, is still relevant today, Jyoti said. Practising it prevents diseases through cultivating wisdom, she said, and results in people leading healthy lifestyles and performing spiritual practices such as deep breathing exercises. Practitioners might still become ill, Jyoti said, but ailments can be treated by herbal medicines. Illness is largely due to previous actions, she said, such as overeating, drug abuse or living a stressful lifestyle. Illness can also be the result of bad karma accumulated in a previous life, she added. Modern science has produced many conveniences for people, but have also created many adverse side-effects for human health, said Haripriya Parivrajika, the temple's other swami. She said she believes the development of medical therapies, from human embryonic stem cell research, will lead to more adverse consequences than positive outcomes. "Whatever goes against nature is harmful for humans and for all creation," she said. Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn