My mom has Parkinson's, so I'm not an unbiased observer in this debate (full disclosure!). So here is the letter I sent to President Bush today asking him to reconsider his stand on this....
President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I’m writing to ask you to please reconsider your stand on the issue of stem cell research. Today I read of former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s speech over the weekend where she called for a change in the federal policies towards stem cell research. I believe, as the former First Lady does, that this type of research can be of immense help in coming up with cures, or at least prevention, for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases.
I’ve read the official Fact Sheet (published 8/9/2001) on the White House web site, and I respectfully disagree with your position. The human embryos that researchers would be working with are embryos generated for the purpose of helping couples that are having trouble conceiving, and would be destroyed anyway if not used for that purpose. I am sorry, but I don’t see the logic in mandating their destruction rather than having them put to use in an extremely worthwhile cause.
Your position paper states: "As a result of private research, more than 60 genetically diverse stem cell lines already exist" I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these existing stem cell lines " where the life and death decision has already been made", This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research" without crossing a fundamental moral line by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life."
The embryos that could be used for research are embryos that, because they are going to be discarded anyway, don’t really have the “potential for life”, but they do have the potential to help improve peoples’ lives. These embryos fall under the definition of having the “life and death decision” already made just like the original 60 cell lines. I fail to see any difference here.
Full disclosure- one of those people it may help is my mother, who has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for almost 20 years now.
More disclosure- I am actively involved in your re-election campaign here locally, have contributed financially to the GOP through my membership in the President’s Club, and am a strong supporter of your efforts to protect our nation’s security.
For the sake of my mother and thousands of other Americans who might be helped by this type of research, at least please re-consider your stand on this issue.
Respectfully,
Alan Macomber
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