“The use of embryonic stem cells is just making life in order to destroy it. It is strip mining living humans,” Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk said Tuesday night, as the Political Science Symposium presented the Stem Cell Debate.
“We wanted to present and issue that is often overlooked because of its highly scientific nature,” Political Science Symposium Chair of Programming Lauren Leahy said. “We wanted to simplify the issue to educate people on this important topic.”
Political science professor Dr. Joseph Kobylka — who also serves as the Symposium’s advisor — moderated the debate, which pitted Pacholcyzk, a two-time graduate of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and Eve Herold, the Public Education Manager for the Stem Cell Research Foundation. Both speakers were allowed 20 minutes to present their side of the argument. Herold presented her pro-embryonic stem cell argument first by giving an overview of the political and ethical issues surrounding the topic.
Herold explained that over 100 million Americans suffer from degenerative cell-based diseases, like Alzheimer’s. “Stem cells have the potential to heal corrective genes,” she said, “in the future we will have the capability to deliver corrective genes.” Herold then moved into an explanation of the two types of cloning that face science today. The first type, reproductive cloning, involves creating an entire genetic copy of an animal. This process has been successfully performed with mammals, but never with primates. The second type of cloning, therapeutic cloning, involves a technique that would be used to produce cloned embryos, but only to create stem cells that can in turn be used to repair damaged or defective tissue in the parent of the cloned cells. She also touched on three bills on currently facing legislation, and how these bills could slow the research on embryonic stem cells. She concluded with a traditional argument. “Science doesn’t have a formula for when life begins.”
Pacholcyzk then took the stage, explaining that he was prepared to “cut through the spin surrounding the subject, because, as we’ve already seen some spin in the first presentation.” He explained that he had four myths about stem cell research, which he would debunk.
The first myth, according to Pacholcyzk, was the belief that stem cells come from embryos alone. The priest said that the cells can come from adult cells, as well as many other sources.
The second myth, he said, was that the Catholic Church is against stem cell research. “The fact is, that’s just not true. Three out of four sources of stem cells are okay by the church. The only source of stem cells that is not okay is embryonic stem cells,” he said.
He then used a series of videos showing cases that fell nothing short of medical “miracles” that had been performed with the use of adult stem cells. These led into the third myth, that embryonic stem cell research is showing promise. “The fact is that only adult stem cells have been used in helping people.
Lastly, the fourth myth, according to Pacholcyzk, was that therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning are different. The fact, he said, was that both types of cloning create the same thing. “Therapeutic cloning violates the cell’s right to grow.”
The debate concluded with five minutes of closing statements by both presenters. Following this, the floor was opened to questions from the audience.
Herold is a published science and health writer whose articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines nationwide. She has also written several publications on Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related degenerative diseases.
Besides the two theology degrees, Pacholcyzk has completed a post doctorate degree at Harvard in neuroscience and also holds a Ph. D. in neuroscience from Yale. He holds four undergraduate degrees all from the University of Arizona, including molecular and cellular biology, chemistry and biochemistry. He has emerged as a leading church spokesperson on what he calls beginning-of-life and end-of-life issues.
