Letters: Sep. 10, 2001

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The debate really comes down to whether U.S. companies will ultimately hold the patents and reap the benefits from medicines and therapies developed through this research, or whether we let foreign scientists and foreign-owned corporations beat us to the draw and the profits. We can soul search over the morality and ethics of this matter until the cows come home, but bottom-line considerations will ultimately determine how far we take this research. HAL GREENFADER Los Angeles

Stem-cell research, while promising, still lies on the fringes of science. I imagine the Bush Administration is glad for any debate that turns attention away from its dismantling of environmental legislation for its friends in the power industry, its scrapping of the ABM Treaty, its support of the expensive and useless missile-defense shield, its lack of a Middle East policy and so on. I hope that in the future the news media will use better judgment about what needs to be in the national spotlight. BRIAN STEBLEN Rochester, N.Y.

Speaking of a "narrow escape" and a "nifty loophole," Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy were able to write of the wisdom of Bush's decision without ever admitting that Bush was wise. (THE REV.) PAUL PORTER, PASTOR Van Meter Baptist Church Van Meter, Iowa

Use only the stem-cell lines that already exist? These lines will eventually be exhausted. With no legal way to gather new embryonic stem cells, the greatest hope for cures will perish. My son Roman Reed is paralyzed. Shall a Republican House and a Republican President be allowed to make it illegal for my son to be healed? DON C. REED, CHAIRMAN Californians for Cure Fremont, Calif.

If funding stem-cell research is controversial, just wait until the therapy is available--and it will be--and the question arises as to who will pay the exorbitant fees for treatment. Will it be private insurance? Medicare? Medicaid? Or will the wealthy seek cures by flying to another country where ethical questions are not so political? This is only the beginning, folks. MURIEL MANUEL Morgan City, La.

We all started as just a few dozen cells. None of us would be here without that stage of development. If those cells aren't precious, then we aren't either. If it's O.K. to experiment on human embryos, then where do you draw the line? Will the next experiment be on demented older patients in nursing homes to better understand the pathology of aging and develop new treatments? MIKE MCINTYRE, M.D. Santa Cruz, Calif.

A Nun Takes On the Church

In supporting the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, Sister Joan Chittister is a prophet for our times [RELIGION, Aug. 20]. The Vatican's attempts to suppress discussion of women serving as priests and to silence those who favor it are not only a violation of the church's own social-justice teachings; these attempts are also likely to backfire (think Galileo and Martin Luther). In addition, at a time of a growing, worldwide shortage of priests (only 400 were ordained in the U.S. this year), such a ban is shortsighted. I am grateful that Sister Joan and her congregation are willing to accept the risk of speaking out on this issue. Many of us (myself included) who work within the church are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of losing our jobs. In the 21st century, that fact itself is a disgrace. MARGARET SMITH Rochester, N.Y.