Madam, - I was interested to read the recent debate in The Irish Times and would like to put to you the perspective of previous infertile couples who want to benefit mankind in a broader context.
Recent correspondence (Martin Clynes, October 30th, Kathleen Kelleher, November 1st and Breda O'Brien's article (November 1st) are firmly against human stem cell research. The language of argument is evocative.
Breda O'Brien refers to ending the lives of some human beings to benefit others, and couples this with previous infamous research performed on adults. There is no clear distinction drawn between the two.
Nowhere is mentioned the rights of previously infertile couples to donate their embryos for research after completing their families. The British Government has approved stem cell research and the HFE Act (1990) allows couples to donate embryos for this purpose, something presumably the Irish Government would not support, mistakenly believing all human embryos are human beings, or have that potential. Science tells otherwise.
So would the Irish Government prefer that its new citizens conceived by IVF did not exist, or that they should be denied life-giving therapies from stem cell research developed overseas when dying from debilitating diseases? Surely not. - Yours, etc.,
Prof IAN CRAFT,
FRCS, FRCOG,
Director,
London Gynaecology
& Fertility Centre,,
Harley Street,
London W1.