Defending Church became surprise role for panelist

A recent appearance on a WMHT public TV special on stem-cell research proved both educational and painful for Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference.

Mrs. Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the conference, which lobbies lawmakers on behalf of the state's bishops, defended the Catholic Church's advocacy of adult stem-cell research.

The other four panelists were in favor of embryonic stem-cell research, which the Church and others believe is unethical because it destroys human life.

Role on panel

Mrs. Gallagher said her objective in participating in the "Health Link" panel discussion, televised Feb. 21, was "to get the Catholic position out there, because we believe the Catholic position is for the betterment of society, not just Catholics. There's so much lack of understanding and misunderstanding out there about stem-cell research."

In fact, she said, several of her fellow panelists and audience members implied that "the Catholic Church is stifling research and making people suffer needlessly."

On the show, she pointed out that the Church is the largest non-profit healthcare provider in New York State, and funds countless other ministries to serve the needy and continue the mission of Christ.

Catholic healthcare institutions are also doing cutting-edge research with adult stem cells, she said, trying to cure the three main causes of death in the U.S.: cancer, heart disease and strokes.

"To imply that we don't care about the suffering really does hurt," she told the studio audience.

Embryos

Much of the panel's discussion centered around the idea of compromise between advocates and opponents of embryonic research: for instance, whether "leftover" embryos not used in in-vitro fertilizations might be used for research.

One panelist asserted that 400,000 such embryos are "sitting frozen in storage in fertility clinics," and that "the higher moral ground would be to use them to pursue embryonic stem-cell research."

Mrs. Gallagher countered that only 2.8 percent of parents of those embryos have given permission to use them for research, so only 11,000 embryos would actually be available -- and, of those, only a few hundred would be viable for scientific use, because the rest are so badly damaged by freezing and thawing.

Besides, she added, the same moral problem exists with destroying human life: "It's like taking organs from death row inmates because 'they're going to die anyway.'"

'Hot seat'

After the show, Mrs. Gallagher told The Evangelist that "the Catholic Church was on the hot seat, and that surprised me. I had prepared for the show thinking of a secular audience, and the focus kept coming back to the Catholic Church and the Catholic position -- which, I explained, is not just held by the Catholic Church."

On the other hand, Mrs. Gallagher was pleased at having been able to offer information to one woman who called in to the show. "Melissa" (no last name given) said she was six weeks away from delivering a child and was searching for a way to donate her baby's umbilical cord blood locally.

Mrs. Gallagher noted that St. Peter's Hospital in Albany works with Cryobanks International, a Florida-based company that operates both a private cord blood bank and a public one that accepts donations. State legislation is also pending that would establish a public cord blood bank in Syracuse.

Umbilical cord blood yields adult stem cells, which Mrs. Gallagher called "a life-affirming alternative to embryonic stem-cell research, which hasn't produced any cures yet."

She pointed out that adult stem cells are currently being used to treat 80 diseases. Treatments using embryonic stem cells, she said, are at least 20 years from being developed.

Education

Mrs. Gallagher was pleased at having participated in the TV discussion, saying: "Every bit of education is helpful for people, because it's a complicated issue. [But] at its core, it's very basic: It's about the fundamental dignity of human life from the moment of conception."

On the show, she noted that although New York State legalized abortion in 1970, "in the Church's mind, that didn't make it right. Human life should never be used as a means to an end, even if it's a worthy end."

(The TV panel included Dr. James Fossett, associate professor of public administration and public health at The University at Albany; Dr. Sander Rabin of the Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College, who is also a biomedical patent attorney; Dr. John Balint, director of the Center for Medical Ethics at Albany Medical College; and Rabbi Dennis Ross, director of both Concerned Clergy for Choice and Family Planning Advocates of NYS, and an associate rabbi at Temple Emmanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts. Tapes of the program, "Health Link Special Edition: Stem Cell Research," are available for $19.95 from WMHT. Call 1-800-950-9648 or order online at www.wmht.org.)

(3/2/06) [[In-content Ad]]