Hi Someday,
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Originally Posted by Someday
Have you followed the debate about creating cybrids closely enough to see that the Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research? Isn't that evidence that they are certainly not against all genetic manipulation, as you claim, but against specific kinds that result in dead human embryos? |
You seem to be treating stem cell research and genetic manipulation as synonyms. That's not so. Not all stem cell research involves genetic manipulation. The article doesn't contain the words gene, genetic, DNA, manipulation. The group they funded promotes 'responsible research on cord blood and adult stem cells.'. Do you know if that includes any research involving genetic manipulation (I can't tell for sure, but 'responsible research' sound to me as if it may not be the case)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Someday
And they do not care if you kill rat embryos, or dogs, or chimps. They are quite specific. They are against killing what they consider a human in order to learn from it,
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Wrong, see the BBC article. That mentioned the example of taking DNA from a human skin cell and implanting it into a cow egg. No human embryo involved at any stage in that research. Yet Catholic cabinet ministers and MPs led the charge to kill off that research.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Someday
and they are against mixing human genes with animal genes.
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No. There was the example where 99.9% of the DNA is implanted human DNA, any remnant of cow DNA doesn't play any part in mitosis and is discarded. You yourself pointed out that in some research there is no real mixing of human and animal DNA. Yet leave it up to the Catholics in the House of Commons and they'll end that research.
Apart from those issues, I would ask who the ministers and MPs are following when they are acting on their Catholic convictions. 'The Catholic church is not against all genetic manipulation' you say. Who speaks out on behalf of the Catholic church with the greatest authority, a cardinal speaking for the Vatican, or cardinals representing the UK and Irish RC church (if the latter ever spoke out in favour of allowing genetic manipulation in some cases, which doesn't follow from the article you linked to)? I'd say the former. The MPs voting to kill research are certainly acting more in line with the position of blanket condemnation pronounced by the Vatican.
And finally, the donation to stem cell research seemed mostly a propaganda exercise to me (and at £25000 a pretty cheap one). They bang on about why certain lines of research should be abandoned in favour of others. While researchers say the ones they want killed are so promising. So with their modest cheque in their hands, they tell the journalists present 'No no, we're not trying to impede scientific progress. Look here, our contribution to stem cell research.'. And then take the time to tell everyone exactly why the range of research options must be limited, why promising ones must be abandoned. Who do these cheap hypocrites think they are kidding? Perhaps you. Certainly not me.
greets,
Peter