I do applaud the choices you have made, Mike. They are the
same choices, I truly believe, that I would make. Our personal
beliefs in all of this are vital to steering our course.

I am neither a high school nor college student. I do not work in
the science or health field. My father is a scientist, and he does
work with stem cells, but he in fact works with those adult stem
cells and stem cell lines that you hear about. So, if I were out for
any kind of personal or financial gain, you might say I would
support this Brownback bill because it bans the competition! But
that would not be right. And is not why I am out here writing to
you.

That my father is a scientist only meant that I was aware of the
issues at hand. It motivated me to do my own reading and
research. It motivated me to search my own heart.

Yes, I think that you would clearly have a problem with the use of
embryonic stem cells. If I read you right, the moment of creation
in your beliefs is that very moment the two reproductive cells
unite and create a fertilized egg. I can see that you would want
research involving embryonic stem cells to be banned, as you
might want abortion to be banned (I am not putting words into
your mouth! I do not know what your stance is on this, but I do
know I also believe you have a right to your stance, ok?)

You would also want reproductive cloning or human cloning to
be banned. Frankly, I think that we pretty much ALL agree with
you there. Cloning babies it just plain wrong.

But what about somatic cell nuclear transfer? The somatic cell
is the term which describes any cell OTHER than a reproductive
cell. It is then transferred into an egg whose own nucleus has
been removed. An UNFERTILIZED egg.
The question of how we get these eggs would be the choice of
the woman. Nobody is going to force a woman to give up her
eggs! No way.

You will have a problem with this if you think that the egg alone is
a child. I don't think that it is. I think that until it is fertilized, it is
truly one more part of our amazing body.

The Brownback bill s1899 would ban ALL of these definitions of
cloning or nuclear transfer. Then it would go further. If you had a
different idea of where life begins, or say you can see that SCNT
(somatic cell nuclear transfer) is different, and your child or loved
one or even yourself had a disease or damage which this
research could help, and you decide that you want to use this
cure or therapy. It's not happening here in the United States. So
you decide to travel to Canada or England or Austrailia where it
is legal. You will not be able to return to your home without
facing that 10 year jail term/million dollar fine!

There is the other bill before the Senate. The bill which is
sposored by Senators Orrin Hatch (a man who is pro-life as you
know) and Diane Feinstien. It would ban human/reproductive
cloning. It's not a perfect bill yet- in fact, they are right now
figuring out some guidelines to add to it which would make it
more acceptable to the majority of people. So it's not a perfect
bill, but I think that it is the right first step. Let's not ban everything
before we truly understand what is at stake.

We can always decide for ourselves which therapies we can live
with.

My petition does not endorse embryonic stem cell research. It
simply opposes the Brownback bill s1899, and states that we do
see a difference between cloning humans and some of these
other avenues of research. I would not ask most people to sign
a petition backing ES research. I understand that lots of folks
have a BIG ethical problem with it. Again, I am just trying to shoot
down this Brownback bill.

I hope this helps to clear up where I am coming from.

Thanks for taking the time to think about this with me,
emily