This letter is in response to Ms. Bonnie Erbe's condescending column in Saturday's Dickinson Press in which she mocks the pro-life ideal.
It is very simple really. Embryonic stem cell research would destroy a fertilized (conceived) living human embryo. That is not potential life. It is human life at its earliest stage.
Why aren't we hearing more about the research being done at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Wisconsin, and Kyoto University as reported by Andrew Sparks in the College Media Network? Teams of scientists at these institutions all managed to manipulate human skin cells so that those cells would retrace their development to a non-commitant cell. In other words, those reprogrammed cells called "induced pluripotent" stem cells can then take on a variety of tissue types. Like embryonic and adult stem cells, these reprogrammed skin cells can be used to regenerate heart tissue, brain cells and could even treat spinal cord injuries. Because these cells are already a genetic match to the patient, chances of rejection are mostly eliminated. Are we not hearing about research like this because there is so much money in embryonic research?
Finally, Ms. Erbe, ridicule does not become you. Your analogies fringe on sensationalistic, irresponsible journalism. Pro-life people do not need to "get a life" as you suggest. We need to protect human life in all its unique stages.
Mary Maus, Dickinson
