Pat Langlois 5:33 p.m. CDT November 4, 2016

Culturing cells in small petri dishes(Photo: Hakat, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In the Herald Times Reporter on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, you published a commentary titled Wisconsin a hotbed of stem cell issues by Howard Brown in which he promotes the use of embryonic stem cells. He indicates these cells are isolated five to 10 days after conception. They are not yet a baby, he states.

Conception in Tabers Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is The union of the male sperm and the ovum of the female; fertilization. The union signifies that the life of a new human being has begun. This union will continue its process of development and move through the various stages of development including embryo, fetus, newborn, toddler, school age, teenager, adult and old age. Never in that process is this human being anything but human.

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Human embryologist C. Ward Kischer, an associate professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, stated: Every human embryologist in the world knows that the life of the new individual human being begins at fertilization. It is not a belief. It is a scientific fact.

Therefore, because it is a new human, it deserves our respect and protection.

To say, as he did it is not yet a baby is wrong language semantics in an effort to camouflage the truth. It is a baby in its earliest stage of development.

Brown indicates it is OK to use embryos (his word) from in vitro fertilization donated by parents for research when the parents decided not to use them to produce a baby. Those embryos are the baby. How can we sooth our consciences by using word gymnastics to justify experimentation on a defenseless human being? These embryos are our next generation. They are of great value.

The author indicates embryonic stem cells show promise in beating diseases. But there is the complication of uncontrolled tumor formation and rejection.

Adult stem cells have been used for years to treat more than 100 conditions, including leukemia, cancerand immune system disorders.

Adult stem cells can come from the patients own tissues including bone marrow, blood, muscleand nasal mucosa. These cells are not genetically unstable, so the risk of tumors is eliminated and the problem of rejection does not exist. More than 1,500 clinical studies have been conducted testing adult stem cells for treating diabetes, heart disease, MS, arthritis, etc.

His final statement asks, where does the reader stand on the use of embryonic stem cells no longer wanted for in vitro fertilization? The fact remains that these embryos are human beings. They are not a resource that can be used for experimentation. They are fellow human beings deserving of our protection until natural death, just like you and I.

The emphases of our research should be centered around adult stem cell treatments and cures. It is ethical and has shown great promise.

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