a

u fr'I
Ird r i Ir
;J'i f'f flr f't
L} JJ LJ II J -D\ 1J...
thenelvsieiier --l
ol ihe ProLifeCamoai*r-r
S RING ?I"

ffilec*lorc
Th eF r* L i f eC a m p a igi sn *ourxtd*wn
a non-S *n o m i n a t !i*onbabl y
gl"oLjp,*ra.\,vrngrissi":pl0ri SSeg*ms
froma ivii:ecrcss-s*rtior:
rf lrisi":
*q*ciety. The conductof the Governmenthas
beenappallingin a numberof areas
T t t eC i - ; a r g i i p l r , ) f e S
directlyimpactingon the rightto life.
p r c - l i i * * C L i c a t i c *ni ; t i
i:u n r a;*i i s*i ai i
de ie rd ** L a s t y e a r ,t h e C o m m i s s i o no n
..:;.ii : _ , 1 ,i l , - i . " " . ' , , A s s i s t e dH u m a nR e p r o d u c t i o n
C l a r eO ' C o n n e l lE, l s i e - M a H
y a w k i n sa n d R a c h e B
l yrnes
(CAHR)recommended destructive
t r n aii: : =i
deaih. al a recentPLC meetinqin Dublin
researchon livinghumanembryos.
it a is i:r: r l a . i 5 l : i *r Only one of its 25 membersobjected!Thisalonebringsthe entireprocess
t-.-::1:.-.. .*
' intodisreputeand highlights the Government's failureto appointan
jji'ei rlSa:
ii;.:tjS.-rS!=i I,.,!*iiti:ra: e v e n l yb a l a n c e dc o m m i s s i o nT . h e d e c i s i o no f t h e F i a n n aF a i ll e d
.trr{]i::=::r:li': ii*,='j i:i
OireachtasCommitteeon Healthand Childrento renegeon holding
publichearingson the Commission'sReportshowsfurthercontempt
f e a ! I: - : ; S i i : i : * ; l : : i - : : :
f o r p u b l i co p i n i o n .

On EU fundingof humanembryonicresearch,the Governmentis

refusingto join six othercountriesin opposingthe destructiveresearch.
Givenour Constitution's protectionfor the unbornchildthe Government
shouldinsteadcommitto makinglrelanda centreof excellence for
promisingand ethicallyuncontroversial
the scientifically adultstem
cell research.

The Confidential Enquiryinto Maternaland ChildHealth(UK) recently

revealedthat up to 50 babiesa year in Britainare born alive after
abortions.Accordingto ProfessorStuartCampbellsome of these
abortionsend with "babiesbornbreathingand cryingat 19 weeks,
gestation". lt's anotherchillingreminderof the barbaricnatureof
Britishabortionlaws.Yet,lreland'sstatefundedCrisisPregnancy
Agency(CPA)promotesabortionas a positiveoptiondespite
its remitto do the opposite.

At present,the Government to protectunborn

clearlyfeelsno obligation

@ humanlife.In the monthsahead,the Pro LifeCampaignwill holdthe

Government to accountfor its actionsand ensurethe publicis fully
informedon all recentdevelopmentsaffectingthe rightto life.
&

tr
tr
Therehas beenconsiderable publicityaboutthe potentialof stem celltherapiesin curing
F. chronicdiseasesand disabilities. Muchof it has blurredthe distinction
betweendestructive
humanembryonicresearchand the perfectlyethicaluse of adultstem cells.So far,all the scientific
*
breakthroughsare in the fieldof adultstem cell researchyet the campaignfor publicfundsto allow
researchinvolvingthe killingof livinghumanembryosgoes on unabated.The followingquestions
and answerswill hopefullyhelpclarifysome of the issuesinvolved.
. :-.:I :.

An embryois the earliestform of humanlife.lt is naturallycreatedwhen spermand egg meet

anduniteT . h i sf e r t i l i s eodv u m ,k n o w na s a z y g o t e i,s t h e b e g i n n i n go,r p r i m o r d i u mo,f a h u m a n
being.In 1978the firstbabywas bornas a resultof in vitrofertilisation (lVF).This involved
bringingspermand ovum togetherin the laboratory and then implantingit intothe
mother'swomb.

Stemcellsare unspecialised cellsthat continually

renewthemselvesthroughcell division.
They are foundin humansat all stagesof life,from embryonicthroughto adulthood
as well as in umbilicalcord bloodand olacentas.

Thereare two differentkindsof stem cells:adultstem cells(ASC)and embryonicstem cells

(ESC).Adultstemcellscan be foundin the blood,bone marrow,skin,brain,liver,pancreas,fat,
hairfollicle,placenta,umbilicalcord and amnioticfluid.As well as showinggreatscientificpromise
in repairingdamagedorgansand tissues,adultstem cell researchis ethicallynon-problematic.

However,embryonicstem cell research(ESCR)requiresthe destruction of an embryo,

w h i c hi s a h u m a nb e i n ga t t h e b e g i n n i n o
gf l i f e .

Embryonicstemcellsoriginallywerethoughtto have an advantagebecauseof theirflexibility

and capacityto generatenew celltypes.However,the ongoingresearchhas revealedunwelcome
rangingfromtumourformationto immunerejection.'
side-effects,

Yes.The main advantageis that they are alreadyprogrammed

for functionin adulttissues
and organs.Patientsare alreadybeingtreatedwithASCs.StudiesusingASCs includediabetes,
heartdisease,sicklecell anemia,acutemveloidleukemia,multiplesclerosis,Parkinson's
diseaseand Crohn'sdisease.
tr
foughtbraintumours,
ASCs havealso successfully
tr and
multiplemyeloma,ovarian,testicular,
retinoblastoma,
usesfor stem cells
breastcancers.Morethan 30 anti-cancer
tr have beentestedon humans,and manyare alreadyin routine
therapeutic
use.
F HudsonInstituteSeniorFellowMichaelFumentoasserts
tr the advantageof adultstem cells:"*qxi:rv{*313ic
r.-:::+.=i:-.11
*t*g'::*+:i
L;*i:ii:* it'= ii** * j*i;*. f.de"r*g*tti-g
!:-=.++':'i:r
j:'1;-f".,ij.itii':Er,=* i:+*# r-:*i *9 i:t*i:-*i-*t'..Yir--rt!i-' *if::': **ii=.
* i ir.J*' i*
= :':i!'..,'.,.,',: tl ii] t i i r: {.; I s i l-t* r** i }.:I *.

Severalrecentstudiesalsodocumentthe pluripotent flexibility

of certainadultstem cells,proving
that suchversatility
is not confinedto embrvonicstem cells." o

'-
, , : ! .: :: .: :,, ::',,

Adultstem-cellsare botheffectiveand ethical.Embryonicstem-cellsare obtainedby killing

humanembryos,and are very unstable.lt's no secretthat many largepharmaceutical and
biotechcompaniesare refusingto fund embryonicresearchthemselvesgivenits very uncertain
potential.Nonetheless, they havewagedan extremelysuccessfulpublicrelationscampaignto
securetaxpayer-funded research.This in partexplainsthe mediahype promotingdestructive
embryonicresearch.Yet,whetheror not pharmaceutical companieschooseto makeexaggerated
our Governmenthas a responsibility
claimsor blur importantethicaldistinctions, not to flout
the empiricalevidence.Even moreso, the Governmenthas a dutyto vindicatethe rightto life,
particularly
at its mostfragilebeginnings. We must not destroylifeto prolonglife.Ratherwe
must strivefor cureswe can all livewith.

on issuesrelatedto stemcell researchand cloninqcheck

For more information
, . ' ; Y y , r :p i i : i : f e . : ; A:f;:.i r:" :c-

'
B l o o mS . S t e mC e l lD i v i s i o nJ. C l i n I n v e s t2 0 0 5 : 1 1 5 j 6 7 6 - 7

I K r a u s eD S ,T h e i s eN D , C o l l e c t olrv l l ,e t a l . M u l t i - o r g a nm, u l t il i n e a g e
e n g r a f t m e nbty a s i n g l eb o n em a r r o wd e r i v e ds t e mc e l l .C e l l 2 0 0 ;11 0 5 : 3 6 9 - 7 7

' Y o o nY - S .W e c k e r A ,H e y dL , e t a l . C l o n a l l yE x p a n d e dm u l t i p o t e nstt e m
cellsfrom humanbone marrowregeneratemyocardiumafter myocardial
i n f a r c t i o nJ. C l i n I n v e s t2 0 0 5 ; 1 . 1 5 : 3 2 6 - 3 8

' Mc GuckinCP, ForrazN, BaradezN-O.\etal. Productionof stem cells

w i t he m b r y o n i c h a r a c t e r i s t ifcrso m h u m a nu m b i l i c acl o r db l o o d .C e l l
PI olit 2005,38:245-255
 Honorary
President:
DesHanalin
Chairperson:
DrJoel,lcoatroll
DeputyChairperson:
CoraSherlock
\ LegalAdviser:
Professor
William
Binchy
P!blishedbythePIoLifeCampalgn. l\redical
Adviser:
Dr BerryKiely
34 Gardiner Dublin
SlreetUpper, l. LegalConsultanti
Caroline
Simons
Te{:01-8748090 Fax:01'8748094
Emaii:prolile@indigo.ie Secretary:
JohnO'Rerlly
Webste:ww.plolilecampaign.ie Educatlon
Offrcer: MartinSRN
Geraldine

In January,resultsof the most detailedlong-termstudy on the psychological

after-effects
of abortion
on womenwere publishedin the highlyregardedJournalof ChildPsychology and Psychiatry.The
New Zealandbasedstudyrevealedthat womenwho have abortionssignificantly increasethe risk
of developingmentalhealthproblemsin laterlife.ProfessorDavidFergusson, who conductedthe
research,saidthe resultssurprisedhim but were statistically
strong.

Anotherrecentstudycarriedout by researchers foundthat womenwho undergo

at Oslo University
inducedabortionsuffermore long-termmentaldistressthan womenwho experiencemiscarriages.

Theseincreasingly frequentfindingson the negativeeffectsof abortionare furtherproofthat the quick

fix approachof pro-choicegroupsdoes nothingto addressthe longtermsocialand psychological needs
of women.lt's time the CrisisPregnancy Agencyand otherstook heedof the most up-to-dateresearch.

youarewilling
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Perhaps to makea smallfinancial
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Campaign overthenextthreeyears?Perhapsyouhaveyourownideasonhowyoucanbesthelpthe
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PlgaSg fgmgg!'lbgf thg PLC ln yOUf Will providing

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ramiry
wirbethemost
imporrant
partof yourWill.lf you arethenin a positionto leavesomething to a goodcause,we hopeyouwillconsiderthe ProLifeCampaign's work
overthe years.Goodcausesrelyon bequests as a sourceof income.Bigdonations
are marvellousbutthe smallestgiftmakesa bigdifference.

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