Interesting LTTE today - re RWer going to China for Stem Cell medicine

[zbdent]

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/2005/01/03/news/editorial/letters/10542997.htm

Sorry, you have to register. First letter. But here's the gist:

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As I started to read the article, however, my sympathy turned to anger. A devout Catholic who opposes stem-cell research travels to China to take advantage of that very same research? What amazing hypocrisy. But after thinking about it for the better part of the day, I realized that this was not a story of moral bankruptcy but of hope. Indeed, it belonged on the front page and was properly headlined.

Although it wasn't said explicitly in the article, the story's essence was that, in a time of crisis, a deeply religious man had abandoned his religious principles in order to place his life in the hands of the science he previously derided. I choose not to view this as hypocrisy, but, instead, to see it as a ray of hope.

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The article also brought a sharp focus to the moral issues involved in stem-cell research. Basically, there are only two morally defensible positions: You oppose the research, in which case you are unable to accept the benefits of that research without being a morally bankrupt hypocrite; or you support the research, in which case you must accept responsibility for the unpleasant moral implications it entails.

There is no middle ground -- you cannot have your cake and eat it, too.

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