Letter to the Editor - Ottawa Citizen

Philip G. Ney, MD, MA, FRCPC, RPsych

© September 2005

Sacrificing to Benefit Others - Embryonic Stem Cells

Dear Editor,

Margaret Munro’s piece in your paper on Tuesday September 13, 2005 regarding fresh embryos for stem cell research, raises again not only the issue of ethics, but maybe a more basic idea; Is it possible that in some situations, intuition precede reason,that there is a kind of folk wisdom that needs to be listened to. I think so. People of all types, physicians in particular, know that sometimes their intuition can guide them into making better decisions than all the best research and rationalization. Somehow it seems wrong to most people that tiny little ‘people’ can be harvested, used and destroyed for the "benefit of others". I believe the law of mutual benefit always applies. Nobody can benefit at the exspence of any other, no matter who they are, their race, age, size or shape. I would be interested to know if anybody can name an exception to this rule. If it is not good for your neighbour, it cannot be good for you. People keep trying to exploit others but in the long run, whatever they build or achieve, comes crashing with them. History makes it very clear that cheaters never prosper. That being the case, it’s very unlikely that anyone can possibly benefit from the destruction of the smallest human. Besides, have all the other avenues been tried? The best evidence indicates that adult stem cells and those taken from cord have better therepeutic results. Intuition, ethics and common sense, would say that until all other avenues have been exhausted, the littlest, most helpless human should not and cannot be sacrificed ostensibly for the benefit of others. It just won’t work.

Yours sincerely,
Phillip G. Ney, MD