Missouri needs more AEDs

By Wes Wright

Upon reading former U.S. senator Thomas F. Eagleton's Feb. 26 op-ed column in favor of stem-cell research, one is likely to come away largely in favor of such research. Indeed, most Christians (even conservative Christians like myself), would find themselves in nearly complete agreement with his words.

The problem, however, is that in his many words he has either left out several and so has offered more confusion to an already confusing issue, or he has intentionally misled his readers. (I shall leave it to others to decide in which direction he has erred). This is especially true in regard to the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

The issue for the Christian is exactly the kind of stem cells being talked about. Are we talking about adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells?

Adult stem cells may be simply defined as any stem cells other than embryonic stem cells, including research using stem cells taken from umbilical cord.

Embryonic stem cells refer to those harvested from a human embryo resulting in the loss of viability for that embryo. That is, the embryo is killed as a result of harvesting the stem cells.

I agree with Mr. Eagleton that no one, be they "Democrats and Republicans, men and women, Protestant, Catholics, and Jews," would want to put an end to research that might result in "cures for diseases and injuries that cannot be treated successfully." Indeed much progress has been made in finding treatments for a host of diseases from stem-cell research. A few examples might be listed: bone marrow transplants for some types of leukemia and advances in curing brain cancer, skin cancer, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Crohn's disease, corneal regeneration and surface wound healing.

The problem, however, is that all of these advances (and by "all" I mean "all" -- 100 percent of all cures and treatments) have come from research using adult stem cells.

At the heart of the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative is whether or not research should be conducted on embryonic stem cells. This is where many Christians draw the line.

The heart of this initiative, as it is so worded, is not to invest in future cures, for that would mean further investigation into the one area of stem-cell research that has yielded every advance (adult stem-cell research). No, the heart of this initiative is to bridge the ethical divide and begin experimentation on what we perceive to be human beings at their earliest stage of development. We find this to be morally reprehensible.

As absolutely no advances have been forthcoming from such morally deficient research, we look elsewhere for discovering reasons that so many want to cross this ethical divide. The reason we discover has nothing to do with the finding of cures, but rather has everything to do with finding a scientific justification for an already morally deficient practice, the practice of abortion.

Wes Wright is the pastor of Mount Auburn Christian Church in Cape Girardeau.