It is unfortunate that the author imposes religious matters and,
thus, his own personal prejudices, into the debate on human research
subjects. The matter of species is not in doubt in human embryos. It is no
more "religious" to restrict experimentation on human subjects than it
would be to restrict and regulate nuclear power plants.
The United States does not prohibit embryonic stem cell research or
cloning of human embryos at all. There are restrictions on funding from
tax dollars, however. As a matter of fact, the National Institutes of
Health has announced that there are funds available for the research that
can be funded under current laws and regulations. As of this writing, the
governments of France, Canada, and Germany do prohibit cloning of human
embryos and have their own restrictions and regulations on human embryonic
stem cell research.
As to the commodification of human lives, please consider the
circumstances of the research on human embryos and pre-implantation
genetic diagnosis and selection as possible examples of the exact
situation that Dr. Kass predicted.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
21 August 2004
Beverly B. Nuckols
Board, Texas Physicians Resource Council and Texas Alliance for Life
Rapid Response:
Error in facts
It is unfortunate that the author imposes religious matters and,
thus, his own personal prejudices, into the debate on human research
subjects. The matter of species is not in doubt in human embryos. It is no
more "religious" to restrict experimentation on human subjects than it
would be to restrict and regulate nuclear power plants.
The United States does not prohibit embryonic stem cell research or
cloning of human embryos at all. There are restrictions on funding from
tax dollars, however. As a matter of fact, the National Institutes of
Health has announced that there are funds available for the research that
can be funded under current laws and regulations. As of this writing, the
governments of France, Canada, and Germany do prohibit cloning of human
embryos and have their own restrictions and regulations on human embryonic
stem cell research.
As to the commodification of human lives, please consider the
circumstances of the research on human embryos and pre-implantation
genetic diagnosis and selection as possible examples of the exact
situation that Dr. Kass predicted.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests