Saying No to the Culture of Death

Last weekend Belinda Emmett at the age of 32 lost her battle with cancer. The actress, was a star on a TV show, when at the age of 24 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It appears that Belinda had noticed the lump 2 years before the cancer was diagnosed. Belinda became a tireless campaigner in getting the message out there, that women need to check their breasts on a regular basis and if they spot any lumps then go and get it checked. Belinda fought her battle very well, but the cancer had gone to her bones. There is no cure for bone cancer.

The big C has been touching my personal life a lot lately. Last year my sister died from bone cancer and this year a dear friend lost his battle with cancer. My mother in law died when I was in my twenties as a result of breast cancer. I know that if the cancer is caught at an early stage then the prognosis is good, but if the cancer has spread to the lymph glands there is very little chance for survival.

Belinda Emmett was a very brave young woman and she was a great support to other women who found themselves in the same predicament. During her battle with cancer,  Belinda met and fell in love with Rove McManus, and he was a great support Belinda. They married only a few years ago, after Belinda had been told that the cancer had gone to her bones. Rove has cancelled his own T.V. shows for the remainder of the year. The poor man is devastated over the loss of Belinda.

Belinda's battle with cancer and her untimely death is a reminder that cancer does not discriminate when it strikes. I hope that with Belinda's death that there will be a rethink regarding the preventative measures that can be taken and can reduce the risk of women dying as a result of breast cancer. The government needs to expand the breast screening program, making it freely available to women under 50. The statistics need to be reviewed to take into account that many women are diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50 and that their survival rate often means that they die over the age of 50.

Breast cancer in a woman as young as Belinda is very aggressive. There is little chance of survival if it is caught too late.  In Belinda's case, the secondary cancer was incurable, and she had a brave fight once the cancer had gone to her bones. Belinda is now at peace. May God rest her soul.  

The Australian Senators have once again acted in an irresponsible manner. The Australian Democrat Senator, Natasha Stott-Despoja, wants to be remembered after her retirement from politics. She sees the passage of an amendment that would allow cloning of embryonic stem cells as her way of being remembered. I suggest that she will be remembered in the form of infamy and not as one who has done something good.

The argument that was put forward to end the moratorium on this form of research has no real merit. The basis of the argument has been "do you want us to be left behind" in embryonic stem cell research. This is in part what Natasha Stott-Despoja stated in the Senate when she got up and addressed the issue. Her whole argument was lacking because she clearly showed that she had not fully researched the subject. Instead of doing her own personal research, she has relied upon the emotive reasoning of the embryonic stem cell research industry, that they can deliver the goods. She has failed to check out the real facts.

Embryonic Stem Cell research has been a colossal failure. However, people such as Stott-Despoja and Bob Carr have continued with the fantasy that this is the way forward. They are the ones who have failed to recognize that real success in stem cell research has come from the use of adult stem cells, as well as from the umbilical cords that have been stored so that the stem cells can be harvested. The stem cells that come from umbilical cord are a far better quality than that of embryonic stem cells. Also, to date, with the lack of success of the embryonic stem cell  research is the information that the animals that have been used in experiments have developed cancerous tumors. Is this what Natasha Stott-Despoja wants for people who are suffering from Parkinson's Disease?

My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, almost 3 years ago. She does not believe in the use of embryonic stem cells to research this disease. We know that in Parkinson's Disease there is a drop in the level of dopamine in the brain. There is nothing in the ancestral information that has been collected to show a genetic link for this disease. I doubt that there will ever be an answer to how people end up with Parkinson's Disease through embryonic stem cell research. I doubt that a cure will be found via embryonic stem cell research.

The people in favour of this form of research, as well as cloning, have also failed to address the issue of the harvesting of women's ova in order to carry out the research. They have failed to address the possibility that the harvesting of eggs could lead to the further exploitation of poorer women. They have also failed to address the very real issue of the possibility of doing harm to these same women.

I do not believe that an argument that is based upon keeping up with the Jonses is a sound one, yet this is how Natasha Stott-Despoja argued her case in favour of overturning the moratorium on cloning. I do not believe that this woman has a sound grasp on all of the issues that are involved. I believe that as a member of the parliament she has been totally ineffective, and she has done more to harm women than what is for their own good. He inability to do thorough research has shown how she is not a worthy member of the parliament.

Rather than liberalizing the research, the Australian Parliament should be setting out the guidelines and the limits beyond which it is unacceptable to do such research. However, the Senate played the religion card, and once again we see anti-Catholicism coming into play. This is a very bad outcome for Australia and I hope that my taxes will not be wasted on embryonic stem cell research.