I read Drew Robert Winter's column regarding the use of stem cells in biological research ("Bush's stance on stem cell research illustrates backward mentality" SN 6/6). It seems that the people of Winter's frame of mind are not seeing part of the larger picture. He says he feels as if he's living in a 12th-century theocracy, yet he's faced with a decision that someone of that era could not even have dreamed of making. The deeper root of the problem, to me, is that we shouldn't even have 400,000 frozen embryos just "laying around," primed for mere disposal. The fact that these blobs (which you were too at one time, although I'm sure this has crossed your mind) exist only to be destroyed does not make it right to use them for scientific advancement.

Perhaps the blatant disregard for life starts at the point that a deserving couple decides to make thousands of viable embryos, only to have one come to fruition in the body. My point of view does originate in religious values. However, what many college students do not understand is that scientists can have close ties to religion and still perform their jobs well. I myself am a scientist in a successful biotech firm and have met many like myself since graduating a few years ago.

Also, my uncle suffers from Huntington's Disease, a rare disease which is horribly underfunded in research. He would likely benefit from stem cell therapy, but it would be years until his little-known illness made the funding cut for research and he will be gone by then.

So, in closing, before you spill your liberal banter all over the editorial page in hopes of yet again belittling Bush supporters, keep in mind that there are some who will not blindly follow your ideas. There are many, such as myself, who have given this a great deal of thought and don't think that stem cell research is the direction our society should move into. The science itself is really cool, but the price is too big.

Colleen Geyer
2002 graduate