Thanks for sending your comments. I will answer as I see these cases to form my personal opinions.
Killing should be used as a last resort after all other possibilities have been tried.
in WWII, Allied Forces killed Nazis who were killing millions of innocent people. The Nazis could not be stopped by just talking to them, therefore killing them was the only option. Saved many from the Holocaust. A good thing.
Same with the 2 Atomic bombs. Japan attacked the U.S. Could not stop them. President Truman weight the options and decided to use them. It was his decision alone to make. Some say he was right, some say he was right to kill a few thousand people to end the war where many were being killed. Over 60 years later some people think he made the wrong decision, but the rest of the world had to live with his decision.
Stem cells are found from several sources. (see http://www.curesforcalifornia.com/page.php?id=4 for one reference). Not all stem cells are alike. Adult stem cells are called multipotent. This means they can turn into several different kinds of cells within the same basic cell type. Embryonic stem cells are called pluripotent. This means they can turn into all of the bodys cell types except egg and sperm cells.
Here are the key points that I have come to my decision. Scientists believe that the potential of embryonic stem cells is even greater than adult stem cells. Believe is the key word to me. It's not a given fact that they are. They have now been shown to work with mouse embryos. It may work with human embryos.
Embryos are not the only source for pluripotent" stem cells. (2006.06.27: Research on Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells, http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t060627.html )
So I feel those sources should pursued first since there would be no moral or ethical concerns.
Some people believe embryos are the beginning of a human life. If one believes that then it should be protected and killed only when no other options exist. If one does not believe an embryo is not a life then they see no point in protecting a bunch of microscopic cells. Then there are the people who are not sure if an embryo is a human life but think it is so small it doesn't matter.
As for Human embryos created for IVF treatment and no longer need for that purpose so they should be used to possibly improve the life of others. If one believes they are a human life, then as long as other options might also exist, they should not be used.
President Bush did not outright band their use, just federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. He did not stop all stem cell research as some my lead you to believe. Private funding and several states are funding research. Like President Truman's decision to use the atomic bombs, it was a tough decision to make. Unlike President Truman's decision, Congress had the chance to override President Bush decision but failed to do so.
President Bush is not the only world leader deciding this.
"Germany Calls for EU-Wide Ban on Stem Cell Research" 2006-07-26 http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2106539,00.html
- Although stem cell research amounts to only a small portion of the
bloc's 51 billion euro ($64.3 billion) science budget for 2007 to 2013,
it is a highly controversial topic among the bloc's ministers and likely
to be subject to a heated debate during an EU science and research
ministers' meeting on Monday.
- "The European Union science program should not be used to give financial incentives to kill embryos," German Research Minister Annette Schavan wrote in a letter to the Finish EU presidency on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The current proposal from the European Commission and the European Parliament does not rule this out."
- Germany -- along with Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania Luxembourg and Malta -- are against the notion that the bloc should provide money for projects in some countries if the same research is prohibited in other member states.
Jim Lubin wrote:
"I have a moral problem with taking
one life to improve another persons life."
You also mention the nazis.
Following your moral standard, the Allied Forces were
wrong to kill nazis, because in so doing they improved (saved)
the lives of those who would have been killed in the gas
chambers. Many of the Holocaust survivors survived to have children
and grandchildren. That is a good thing, is it not?
These are not simple matters. Our country is also
the only one to have killed thousands of people
with the nuclear bomb. Very tough decision.
Horrible? Yes. But it probably prevented the loss of
countless other lives. Was it wrong....?
If a couple decides they no longer need the embryo
being stored, and it will only be destroyed or thrown
out, how does anyone know that a higher power
isn't showing us that this can be used to save future
generations of children who might be born with or
develop incurable diseases? No, I don't believe
in having 'embryo farms'.
You stated your opinions. These are my opinions.
Kevin
