Pilcher-Cook's Complaints

In an "As I See It" column in the May 2nd KC Star, Mary Pilcher-Cook, Republican Kansas State Representative, complains about misleading vocabulary used by proponents of medical research to relieve human suffering. She cites three examples of alleged deceptioin by stem-cell research proponents:

• What the actual research entails- She claims the research is about manufacturing and destroying human life.
• What the research has accomplished- She claims there has been a lack of success with embryonic research.
• What the research has not revealed- She claims it is highly exploitive of women, because of the number of eggs required for the process of cloning, aka somatic cell nuclear transfer.

But, first, let's deal with another claim by Pilcher-Cook that the editors of Nature magazine admonished scientists for purposeful deception by discussing a proposal to refrain from using the term 'embryo' when referring to the blastocysts from which human embryonic stem cells are harvested. The editorial was hardly an admonishment and the term, "purposeful deception" is Pilcher-Cook's, not the editors of Nature, who also wrote, "...appearing to deny that fact will not fool die-hard opponents of this research. If anything, it will simply open up scientists to the accusation that they are trying to distance themselves from difficult moral issues by changing the terms of the debate." The editorial actually supported scientists who confront their critics.

A Google search revealed that Pilcher-Cook probably got her information from a blog called Secondhand Smoke. She referred to the Nature magazine as the July, 2005, issue, apparently being unaware of the weekly publication of Nature. The editorial she misconstrues is from the July 7, 2005, issue. Now, on to her three leading claims.

It is true that a blastocyst embryo has the potential to become a fully functional organism. But, potential or opportunity is not human life, not now, not ever. Play with words all you want, Mary, but you can't use words to turn an embryo in a laboratory (read as 'sow's ear') into a breathing, perceiving and cognitive human being (read as 'silk purse').

Pilcher-Cook's other two complaints: lack of embryonic stem-cell research success and exploitation of women, are not addressed in her article. So, I won't address them either, except to say, Poppycock!