Embryos destroyed if not used for research

re. letters - July 11, 2007
(letter as submitted)

Why let facts get in the way of a good story? At least that seems to be the attitude of some of your letter writers.

Take the case of a woman arguing against the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research. She spins a wonderful story about how placental stem cells cured a woman's cancer! A pity such a miracle has not made the medical literature. Stem cells can be used to treat many conditions, including restoring cells destroyed by cancer and cancer treatments. They do not cure cancer.

One would think that embryos were being ripped from women's wombs to hear the hostility the topic engenders. The truth is, human embryonic stem cells are harvested from leftover material after in-vitro fertilisation. If they are not used for research and treatment, they are simply discarded.

Embryonic stem cells differ from placental stem cells in a number of ways. That's why they are so valuable to medical science.

Then we have the revisionists who castigate the new taxes City Council is proposing. They ignore the fact that the City has kept property tax increases well below what any of the surrounding cities have managed. And they ignore the fact that the root of the problem lies in provincially mandated services downloaded to the city by Harris that McGuinty still refuses to fund. Some even raise the name of Lastman, ignoring the bailout loans from his buddy Harris that the current Council has to pay for.

McGuinty could have provided the funding that Ontario's cities were asking for. Instead, he gave Toronto new taxing options. Would the opponents of the new taxes really prefer to pay higher property taxes instead?

If you really want to do something about municipal taxes, you have your chance this October 10 when we elect a new provincial government. And that's a fact, even if it isn't a good story.

Gary Dale