Dear Mr. Shea:
You have made egregious errors in this article.
Please note the following scientific facts and please correct your article:
(A) The actual problem is with HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARACH. By using the wrong terms your article simply ignores an entire group of human beings who are less than 8 weeks of age – the human embryos from whom the stem cells are going to be taken and, in fact, are being taken now.
(B) NOTE your statement: “derived from fetuses.” Wrong; these are human embryos. A human embryo exists from fertilization until the end of the eighth week; then a human fetus exists.
Judie Brown, President
American Life League Inc.
Dear Judie:
It's often been said that the Church is one of the only armies in the world that bayonets its own troops. Your note helps to support that unfortunate description.
FWIW, I'm a writer, not a scientist. My intention was not to exclude any human beings at any stage of development but to speak an unpopular truth in popular language. Any *reasonable* reading of my article would lead a reader to conclude that I oppose the cannibalization of human beings at any stage of development and that I was using the term “fetus” not in a highly specialized and technical sense but in the more popular sense denoting any unborn baby.
Next time, instead of slapping an ally upside the head for not being absolutely precise, why not try a kind word? I'm on your side. I oppose stem cell research that involves any taking of human life. That's the bottom line and my article made that very clear.
Thanks for your hard work in protecting the unborn.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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