... involving stem cell research, Anthony.

>> As far as stem cell research goes, get educated on the subject.
>> My wife has juvenile diabetes and our family knows of its extreme hardships.

My sympathies to your wife. That being the case, however, I simply cannot understand how you can oppose the use of federal funding to conduct embryonic stem cell research.

>> There is no hard proof that embryonic stem cell research works ...

Well, that would be the point of conducting the research, wouldn't it? To find out whether it does work. That's why they call it "research".

>> ... and adult stem cell research is being done with some interesting results.

True enough. However, there are good scientific reasons to believe that embryonic stem cell research may lead to medical advances that adult stem cell research cannot.

>> Embryonic stem cell research is being done in our country with private
>> funding. The question is should federal dollars be used to support this
>> research which carries serious ethical implications.

The only "ethical implication" I see is the question of whether we as a people are willing to undertake every available means of searching for medical advances which might possibly solve some of the most serious and debilitating diseases with which humans can be afflicted or whether we are going to allow such potential medical advances to be frustrated, delayed and possibly even prevented by religious zealotry.

>> Religion or not ...

You can't say "religion or not", Anthony, because it is only as a result of religious intolerance and inflexibility that this has even become an issue.

>> ... you are dealing with a living entity and that brings up the issue
>> of when does life begin these are important questions, especially in
>> a country where "the vast majority of Americans believe in a god of some kind".

See, you prove my point. You can't even state the issue without invoking the religious aspect. To me, it's quite simple. I don't care when "life begins". Even if a clump of embryonic stem cells is considered to be "alive", I am willing to sacrifice that "life" for the purpose of finding cures for diseases, illnesses and other afflictions which are ruining (and even ending) the lives of fully developed human beings.

Over the past two years, I have twice developed skin cancer. Those cells were "living", too (quite well and quite vigorously, in fact). I had no qualms whatsoever about killing them by having my doctor slice those little suckers right off my body.

Do you think you or anyone else has the right to prevent me from doing so because those cells were "living"? Is this an "ethical issue" for you or others of similar religious views? And, if not, how do you logically differentiate those "living cells" from the "living cells" that would be used for embryonic stem cell research?

Religious beliefs should not be playing ANY ROLE WHATSOEVER in the determination of governmental policy on the performance of or government funding for this scientific-medical research. Our leaders should be making decisions on this issue based on the advice of scientists and doctors, not intractable religious opinions.

----- jim o\-S