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As printed in Hearing Health, volume 20:4,
Winter 2004
By Tommie Wells
Stem cell research is a very controversial subject.
I belong to several Internet discussion groups for which
stem cells and their potential usefulness in alleviating
the problems of deafness is a common topic. I have a
cochlear implant and have had some degree of hearing
loss for most of my life. My daughter is also profoundly
deaf and uses two behind-the-ear hearing aids. Although
because of hereditary late deafness there is a good
chance that my granddaughters and future great grandchildren
may become deaf as they age, still, I would not feel
comfortable knowing a cure for deafness was developed
by destroying human embryos.
There is a large amount of embryonic and fetal tissue
destroyed every day - wasted tissue that could be used
if there were some way to make it available. While I
don’t strongly object to using tissue that would
have been discarded anyway, I fear that making it available
for research would just create more problems. Why? Because
science, as such, has no conscience. Individual scientists
may or may not have beliefs and ethics regarding sacrificing
human life in efforts to advance knowledge, but science,
as a discipline, is interested only in truth. There
need not be a practical application - the truth in and
of itself is considered enough justification.
I believe that once embryonic stem cell research has
begun in earnest and with government funds, scientists
will begin making embryos to order - embryos with specific
characteristics. A human embryo is a human life. I feel
it is wrong to cause the formation of an embryo just
for the purpose of research with the destruction of
that life as the end product. Harvesting stem cells,
despite the good it might lead to, is not sufficient
reason to destroy a human life. The further we go down
this slippery slope, the harder it becomes to find a
stopping place. I think it is better to stop now before
we gain more momentum.
There are other ways to perform stem cell research
than using embryonic stem cells, such as working with
cord blood stem cells which are just as useful and can
be harvested without doing harm to human life.
Proponents of stem cell research chide us for keeping
the scientists in the United States from competing on
a level playing field with researchers from other countries.
That is just too bad! The United States was founded
on Christian principles and I want to see that carried
into our future. I want our greatness to be based on
God’s Word and goodness. Our country has been
greatly blessed by God. We should continue to honor
Him in both our individual lives and in the collective
life of our country.
Related Articles:
Stem Cells and Gene
Therapy—Are We Expecting Too Much Too Soon
What Causes
Hearing Loss?
Getting
the Solution to the Problem Area
What is a
Stem Cell?
Gene Therapy
Already a Reality
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