Madam - I agree totally with Martin Clynes (October 30th) when he states that Ireland should oppose allocation of EU funding for research involving the use of human embryonic stem cells. Prof. Clynes has been writing to you since November 1997 regarding our treatment of early life and is the only person in Ireland that I have known to realistically comment on our approach to its treatment.
We accept that human life begins at the moment of conception, as we do in our opposition to abortion. Why then should we allow experiments on human embryos? We would be arguing against ourselves.
Life begins at conception and anything done subsequently to interfere with that life, however it is done, is killing. - Yours, etc.,
KATHLEEN KELLEHER, Rathdown Park, Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Madam, - The European stem cell research effort may soon lead to major therapeutic advances in the fight against Alzheimer disease and cancer. Will the Catholic hierarchy then refuse Irish taxpayers access to new life-saving treatments on the same basis that it now opposes the use of Irish taxpayers' money to support this research? - Yours, etc.,
VERONIQUE KIERMER, Ph.D., A 26th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131 US.