Letter to the Editor

Ignorance threatens our lives

To the editor:

Until the 17th century, physicians were banned from performing surgery, the belief being that because the human body was made in God's image, it could not be violated. In 1721 Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, a Boston physician, was threatened with hanging for inoculating children against smallpox. The pioneers of anesthesia were condemned for its use in surgery and especially childbirth, the theory being that women were meant to suffer. Among other developments originally denounced by the not-so-bright were antibiotics, blood transfusions, birth control, transplants, in vitro fertilization and most forms of painkillers. Supposedly, these scientific tools interfered with nature and were, therefore, against God's will.

Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson rejected medieval mentality and campaigned for smallpox inoculation, saving countless American lives. President Franklin Roosevelt advocated treatment for the disabled population rather than banishment to institutions.

Sadly, the wisdom of these great men appears lacking in the current president who, along with many of our state lawmakers, has chosen an obstructionist attitude toward stem-cell research. Largely due to ignorance of science, they associate stem-cell research with abortion. Ironically, while seeking to "error on the side of life," they may be condemning millions who stand to benefit from advancements in medicine to death or misery. Throughout history ignorance has dwarfed war, natural calamity or accidents as the greatest threat to human life and the greatest purveyor of disability. Unfortunately, ignorance remains the preferred tool of the devil in the 21st century.

WILL RICHARDSON, Jackson