ILLINOIS: LETTER: Embryonic Stem Cell Supporter Grateful For Brain Sharpening

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

LETTER: Embryonic Stem Cell Supporter Grateful For Brain Sharpening
The Illinois Leader, IL  - Thursday, May 13, 2004

"Related Article: It's a mad, mad, mad, mad embryonic kill bill, by Jill 
Stanek, May 4

Thanks guys (I notice it's all guys, no gals) for letting me have my say 
["Pro-life flat Earth thinkers lack
compassion," May 5]. It's been fun sparring with you ["Three "flat earth stem 
cell thinkers" respond and their accuser
rebuts," May 8]. Your arguments ["Stem cells: fact and fiction," May 11] will 
help sharpen my brain for the fight here
in California for stem cell research.

Are these your arguments?

1. I need to change my diet? This is really a new one! You don't know what I 
eat. To my knowledge, no one has ever been
cured of Parkinson's. It's called "rigor mortis without benefit of death" for 
good reason.

2. A blastocyst 4-10 days old of pluripotent cells (undifferentiated cells that 
can become anything) is a human being?
The result of a kind of immaculate conception since no sperm is involved and my 
own somatic cells are used? How do you
know who this is? What gender?

3. There is no difference between cells (any kind of cells, skin cells for 
example) and a person?

4. A human being may be cloned?

5. Adult stem cells are superior to embryonic cells. There is no evidence that 
this is true until the research is done.
This is another misconception spread by opponents of stem cell research. SCNT 
would eliminate the problem of rejection.

6. Even though extra embryos are lost in the process, in-vitro fertilization is 
OK. People have a God given right to
reproduce.

I know about the fetal cell Parkinson's disaster. I'm not talking about 
fetuses. There is a reason for different names,
even the non-existent entities you try to give social security numbers. You're 
not going to argue that human beings
"evolve" are you? I thought we were all created like Adam and Eve--no 
childhood, no belly buttons.

Blood and bone marrow to brain cells has occurred, but it will take years for 
anything approaching a therapy or cure.

Also, I don't have a life, I have an existence. I know, because once I had a 
life.

Let me know at Rayilynlee@xxxxxxx if I have missed any of your points.

Rayilyn Brown
Murrieta, CA

***************

SOURCE: The Illinois Leader, IL


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