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Stop ESR : Seminars
Seminars on Ethical Stem Cell Applications and Research
On February 17th Youth Defence co-hosted an important and exciting seminar in UCC, where Irish and international experts in ethics in science presented the evidence against embryonic stem cell research.
Guest speakers at the seminar included experts from Ireland and abroad. Amongst those was Wesley Smith, the award-winning author and ethicist who champions ethical adult stem cell research and strongly opposes research on human embryos. He lists his occupation as “trouble-maker” on his blog (http://www.wesleyjsmith.com), and is a lively and much-sought after debater and commentator.
He was joined by Dr David Prentice, an internationally-recognized expert on stem cells and cloning, and formerly Professor of Life Sciences at Indiana State University, and Adjunct Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr Prentice was selected by the U.S. President's Council on Bioethics to write their comprehensive review of ethical adult stem cell research. His defense of Adult Stem Cell Treatments with extensive literature documentation was published by Science in January 2007.
The seminar presented crucial information as to the unethical nature of embryonic stem cell research. The many successful treatments for human diseases and injuries which use adult stem cells will be highlighted and explained.
A challenge was issued to UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, to debate the “ethics and validity” of embarking on research on human embryonic stem cell lines during the seminar. Dr Deirdre Madden was also asked to take part in the debate. Neither of them participated.
The seminar was organised by YD in collaboration with Students for Life in UCC and coincides with a billboard and leaflet campaign which hopes to swamp Cork with information to raise public awareness regarding research on human embryos. In particular, the campaign will emphasise that research on human embryos have not produced one cure, while treatments for 73 conditions have been successfully developed using adult stem cells.
An invitation to the seminar was issued to the Minister Education and Science, Batt O’Keefe, who is also a local TD for Cork North West.
Dr Prentice and Mr Smith also spoke at NUI Maynooth on 19 February and in Wynn's Hotel in Dublin on 20 February 2009
UCC Professor slams University on Embryonic Stem Cell Research
A professor of mathematics at University College Cork (UCC) has slammed the university's recent decision to begin embryonic stem cell research. Professor Des McHale, also a well-known author, said that he was "deeply ashamed" that UCC's governing body had passed the proposal to begin the unethical research and called on students, parents and the general public to make their voices heard against the decision.
Professor McHale made his remarks at a packed seminar organised by leading pro-life group Youth Defence in University College Cork. "I am deeply, deeply ashamed of the situation. Not everyone here agrees with it. The vote by the governing council was a tie, passed only by a casting vote by the chairman," he said.
Youth Defence spokeswoman Íde Nic Mhathúna welcomed Professor McHale's remarks and said that more than 200 pro-life volunteers had signed up to undertake a "massive door-to-door canvass of Cork" to explain the issues to the public and to encourage lobbying of UCC and of local politicians, including Minister for Education, Batt O'Keefe, in order to have the proposal approving embryonic stem cell research reversed.
The seminar was also addressed by leading stem cell expert Dr David Prentice and renowned ethicist Wesley Smith, who were sharply critical of embryonic stem cell research, pointing out that not only was it unethical but that, to date, it had provided no successful medical treatments. Dr Prentice drew attention to the 73 medical conditions now being successfully treated by adult stem cell research. "All these successful treatments have been published in scientific and medical journals, where they have been peer-reviewed," he told the audience.
Wesley Smith drew sustained applause from the crowded theatre when he said that embarking on embryonic stem cell research would degrade UCC and urged the university to instead become a centre of excellence for ethical adult stem cell research.
Members of the UCC governing body who last October approved a proposal to begin research on stem cells obtained by destroying human embryos, failed to take part in the UCC debate, while Dr Deirdre Madden who made the proposal to the governing body, was also unwilling to debate the issue with Dr Prentice and Mr Smith. Youth Defence said that the refusal to debate such an important proposal was "telling", and that "the public deserved to know why UCC's governing body wanted to spend taxpayer funds on lethal embryonic stem cell research."
Dr Prentice and Mr Smith also spoke to full houses in Maynooth University and in Dublin. The seminars are part of a wider campaign organized by Youth Defence raising public awareness about embryo research. "This is the good news about ethical stem cell research that the public needs to hear. But what the public also deserves to hear are the facts about embryonic stem cell research - that it destroys human life and offers no cures," said Íde Nic Mhathúna.
