Thomas F. Warner is Professor of pathology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Member, American Bioethics Advisory Commission
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, as a “practical pro-life supporter,” should not have praised Dr. James Thomson for his embryonic stem cell research (State Journal editorial, Jan. 30.)
Like many politicians, Thompson jumped on the bandwagon without examining the wheels or scrutinizing the drivers. He was ill-advised. Overlooked was the humanity of the embryo, even as a discarded entity. The destruction of “properly obtained” human embryos for their stem cells was “no problem,” and there did not appear to be any “ethical risks.”
However, there are moral and ethical concerns. First, the human embryo from conception belongs naturally in the female reproductive tract and not in a petri dish.
Second, the utilitarian approach to human life at any stage has always been a global concern, and hopefully will remain so.
Third, the very essence of our humanity is being degraded as never before by this runaway biotechnology and the pseudoethics and false logic which it has spawned. For instance, how could the cells grown in the Thomson laboratory ever have developed into “entire humans” (as the UW human subject committee feared) after he destroyed their developmental association by extracting them from the embryos? The cells when injected into mice did however produce monstrous tumors [tertomas] according to Science, 11/6/98.
This sophistry contrasts with the statement of the National Institutes of Health Human Embryo Research Panel quoted by Dr. Thomson in his testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services: “The panel believes that because the preimplantation embryo possesses qualities requiring moral respect, research involving the ex utero preimplantation human embryo must be carefully regulated and consistently monitored.”
This research should be banned, and I hope Secretary Thompson will so advise President Bush—and Gov. McCallum will follow suit.
This letter appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal 12 Feb 01
