THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM disappointed with South Korea and Britain's refusal to accept the UN's ban on human cloning.
Genetic science has great potential for either serving or degrading humanity. Its proper use requires moral reflection and the establishment of moral limits.
There is no scientific evidence to suggest embryonic stem cell research has more potential to lead us to viable treatments for various diseases than non-embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells carry the likelihood of immune rejection in humans. Animal trials suggest that they are too genetically unstable and too likely to form lethal tumours to be used for treatment. Tests using human adult stem cells, however, have produced significant and encouraging results in the areas of Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, cardiovascular disease, sickle-cell anaemia and dozens of other conditions without posing any moral problem.
On a biological level, the pre-natal being is not like any other tissue: it is human with its own DNA indicating that, as a human, it has the same fundamental and moral right to life as any other human being. All governments have a moral obligation to protect human life in all phases of its existence from conception to natural death. Hence, the cry should be, not for research into embryonic stem cells, but rather for an aggressive expansion of adult stem cell research.
I am, etc.,
PAUL KOKOSKI
paulkokoski@mountaincable.ne
234 Columbia Drive
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Via Go-Jamaica
