Scientists use highest ethics
Stem cell research holds great promise for improving patient care and alleviating human suffering. In Maryland, this research is conducted only after a thorough consideration of the ethical implications.
Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien's op-ed in The Baltimore Sun ("Science needs ethics," Sept. 23) misapprehends both the underlying science and the relevant law. The archbishop makes scientifically questionable assertions that research on adult and induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells eliminates any need for embryonic research and that science has "irrefutably" demonstrated that human embryos are tiny human beings. He also argues that supporters of broad-based stem cell research, including by implication the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission, are guilty of "[d]ismissing the moral questions surrounding" such work.
By law, the commission includes two bioethicists and two individuals with expertise in biomedical ethics as it relates to religion. In addition, any person performing research with financial support from the commission must do so "in a manner that considers the ethical ... implications of the research." The commission does not fund human reproductive cloning, which is illegal in Maryland.
It should be noted that all proposals for funding from the commission, many of which research adult, cancer and/or IPS cells, are reviewed for ethical issues and undergo rigorous scientific peer review. Furthermore, every funded proposal that includes research using human embryonic stem cells must be reviewed by an embryonic stem cell research oversight committee.
All thoughtful parties acknowledge and encourage respectful dialogue on the complex ethical issues surrounding stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
Karen Rothenberg, Dr. Curt Civin and Del. Sandy Rosenberg, Baltimore
Ms. Rothenberg is chairwoman of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and is the Marjorie Cook professor of law at the University of Maryland School of Law. Dr. Civin is director of University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Mr. Rosenberg is a Democrat representing the 41st District.
HSA needs revisions
I am a teacher in a Baltimore school who has worked with the bridge projects as well as getting students to take the high school assessment seriously and make a serious attempt to pass the test.
