Mainers’ reactions mixed on stem cell issue

PORTLAND – Karen Bardo has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for five years. Even though she is still able to work and even goes backpacking, she longs for a cure.

So the 47-year-old Alna woman was cheering when President Bush announced he would allow limited federal funding of stem cell experiments that could lead to new treatments for her illness.

“Any research that we can get is good,” she said.

Like many Americans, Mainers are divided on the issue. The dispute over the research centers on the use of human embryos. Some people regard this as the taking of human life.

Bush’s decision “truly was a compromise, and from the Catholic Church’s point of view – and church doctrine – it isn’t an issue you can compromise on ethically and morally,” said Marc Mutty, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which comprises all of Maine.

Others say such research is the first step to finding a cure to many debilitating diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“We’re talking about very, very early embryos, 5-day-old embryos,” said Julien Murphy, a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern Maine. “When I weigh suffering of a family member with Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease with the status of a 5-day-old embryo, that’s a very early point on the developmental line.”

She compared the use of embryos to seeds: Not all embryos become full-fledged human beings, just as not all seeds flower.