halfaperson
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Embryonic Stem Cell ResearchWe seem to have a cross section of religious and political views on this board (mine and everybody elses  ) so what’s the view on this type of medical research.
My view is that science can not and must not be banned or prohibited under any circumstances. Science is what has advanced civilization and separates us from all other creatures. Restricting it is like putting a gag on which I do not think the big fella upstairs really wants for us.
Once again though we the public don’t seem to get the facts. We just get scare mongering from tabloids screaming Frankenstein at us. When you consider the suffering that this research could eliminate I think any question of morality answers itself. Of course there could be negative consequences like any other development if it is misused. There has to be procedures and protocol to administer it
Like all other activity it needs openness, accountability and managing in a responsible and safe way. Like nuclear power for instance. To me that is where the real danger lies. It lies in the political and economic forces and not the scientific ones.
One further note and one just as important is this issue of MPs being allowed a free vote on it just because of pressure from the Church. When I put my cross on the ballot paper I don’t put it next to some Priests name. This is the really worrying aspect of it for me. What if a Muslim MP Voted in a way that was influenced by someone from Mecca?
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raveydavey
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A point well made.
I will openly admit it's a bit of a dilemma for me. I can see a potential end to much suffering, but it also freaks me out when I read some of the plans proposed - perhaps thats my upbringing, perhaps not.
I've always erred towards the opinion that the world is like a great big puzzle, with science at the forefront of figuring out what goes where for the greater good of mankind.
Careful steps are now needed to ensure this is a step for good and not evil. A big worry is how far down this road do we go.
Will we end up with the rich and powerful able to specify a baby in the same casual way they currently choose options for a car? Or a rogue state specifying a breed of ultimate soldiers? These are worrying thoughts indeed.
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Tommo
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I am all for the research side of things! I think what we have to be careful of is designer babies for couples and other such uses such as elimination of disabled or to create a super being.
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nlag
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Smoke and mirrors from the government again. There is to be NO free vote on the final reading. Whatever goes before is highly unlikely to instigate any defeats or alterations of any substance to the constituent parts of the bill...It is a PR scam.
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30 Mill
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The Science behind all this is sound. No problems with it at all
Its just the puppet master pulling the strings for personal or political gain that seriously worry me
If we cant trust these clowns not to send us to war over imaginary weapons, then god help us with something complex
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cardboardbox?Youwerelucky
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After my catholic upbringing I can see the arguments against it HOWEVER I am all for stem cell research as this could prove to be the gateway to curing many horrendeous diseases.
I find it difficult to accept that an embryo of a certain "age" can be classed as a human being with rights as a human being when at that moment in time it is a mass of (can't think of the right word here) that EVENTUALLY BECOMES a Human Being.
I think that the designer baby route has to be very carefully monitored (although I can see some arguments for that as well)
My biggest worry is that Mother Nature has a great habit of "retaining" a balance and it would not surprise me if we eradicated many disabilities and diseases that a new superbug appears and wipes out half the worlds population 
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nlag
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Putting aside question of belief, morality etc. I have no faith in the ability of the research centres to keep the "experiments" secure and out of the life cycle.
Controlled GM crop experiments have inadvertantly cross pollinated nearby organic plants and created "super weeds" resistant to modern pesticides. Livestock have been infected with diseases carried on the clothing of staff from "secure" government labs.
I can't say that the creation of cells constructed of human and animal DNA does not worry me, let alone the implications of a grown product escaping and breeding into the food chain. Surely we do not need to engineer what has occured naturally for centuries in the population of France.
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Mort
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[quote="nlag"]Putting aside question of belief, morality etc. I have no faith in the ability of the research centres to keep the "experiments" secure and out of the life cycle.
Controlled GM crop experiments have inadvertantly cross pollinated nearby organic plants and created "super weeds" resistant to modern pesticides. Livestock have been infected with diseases carried on the clothing of staff from "secure" government labs.
I can't say that the creation of cells constructed of human and animal DNA does not worry me, let alone the implications of a grown product escaping and breeding into the food chain. Surely we do not need to engineer what has occured naturally for centuries in the population of France.[/quote]
Lots of good and valid points and strangely enough for here - not a great deal of disagreement.
I'm definitely in the pro-science camp - with the same caveats as Ravey of Openness and Accountability.
On the other hand as a great sage once put it:-
"Alcohol - the cause of and solution to ALL life's problems"
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