Comments on: Fetal Stem Cell Trial Starts for Stroke Patients, Spinal Cord Patients up Next

By: AD

AD — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:42:43 +0000

Ian, you claim the status of scientific fact for life beginning at fertilisation. There are many different scientific opinions about when human life begins depending on what you are using as the defining criterion:
“Contemporary scientific literature proposes a variety of answers to the question of when human life begins.” http://8e.devbio.com/article.php?id=162

The article quoted above examines the question of when human life begins from various perspectives, including religious and scientific, and the basic conclusion is:
“Science has not been able to give a definitive answer to this question. One opinion is that the acquisition of humanness is a gradual phenomenon, rather than one that occurs at any particular moment. If one does not believe in a “soul,” then one need not believe in a moment of ensoulment. The moments of fertilization, gastrulation, neurulation, and birth, are then milestones in the gradual acquisition of what it is to be human. While one may have a particular belief in when the embryo becomes human, it is difficult to justify such a belief solely by science.”
In my opinion claiming something as scientific fact, when no such concensus exists in this case, is a lazy way of defending a position that is based on emotion rather than reason.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:40:30 +0000

@3, So they can test it on mice but they can’t use humans? I find that highly hypocritical since both are essentially animals. A fact which many humans seem to forget.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:09:35 +0000

@5, I appreciate your clarification between human ES cells as used by Geron, and Foetal stem cells as used by Reneuron, but the fact remains that a human blastocyst (as with a foetus) is a stage of human development. The fact that Human ES cells are left over from IVF treatments does not make such treatments morally right. In both cases the human being is destroyed.

The human being regardless of their stage of development has an inalienable right to life.

By: Paul Knoepfler

Paul Knoepfler — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 01:26:46 +0000

I wish you had gone into more depth about the differences between the 3 clinical trials that you discussed. Geron’s is in most ways completely unrelated to the other two. I discuss these issues on my blog. http://www.ipscell.com

Paul

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:51:46 +0000

@2, Can you give any examples of “Religious fanatacism” trying “to oppress science for centuries”?

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:50:45 +0000

@1, The Church of England has very little infuence in matters English health care policy. Besides you need to be more specific – speaking as a Catholic there is no objection to ‘stem cell research’ as you call it. There is however strong and reasoned objection to human embryonic and foetal stem cell research – human life begins at conception (scientific fact) – and therefore the embryonic human should enjoy a right to life.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:14:53 +0000

It’s encouraging to see the science progressing despite the extreme religious opposition. Religious fanatacism has tried to oppress science for centuries, from the discovery of our planets orbit to stem cell research.

By: Zachary

Zachary — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:18:16 +0000

They have an official National Church, yet can still get over the insane objections to stem-cell research. Good work Britain.