Urge vote against cloning research

To the editor:

Lawful human cloning will be in Missouri sooner than you think. This week, the Missouri House will decide on whether or not college and university professors can use private funding to pursue research that includes the techniques of human cloning, abortion and embryonic stem-cell experiments.

Cloning and stem-cell research both take a human life. This research demeans life by creating human lives in order to destroy them. Since when has it been moral to take a human life in order to save or improve the life of another human?

Every time scientists clone or create an embryo, they create a soul, the essence of the human being. While these cells are dividing, the soul is dwelling within, patiently waiting for enough functions to express himself or herself. When scientists destroy these cells, they also destroy a human soul. Only those individuals who consider human beings as mere products as disposable as an old automobile would consider such actions acceptable. It gets to the heart of how we define ourselves.

Please urge your state representative to vote no on House Bill 1409. Our universities should not be in the business of conducting research that attacks the sanctity and dignity of human life.

SARAH M. WHEELER

Campbell, Mo.