April 2006

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Topic:	Stem Cell Research
Date:	April 15, 2006
Time:	Executive Committee Socializing Program	6:00 p.m. (all members welcome) 7:00 p.m. (open to the public) 8:00 p.m. (open to the public)
Admission:	Adult Members Adult Guests Children 13 & Under	$3 $4 $2	All members get $1 off in the month of their birthday.
Where:	Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church* 23925 Northwestern Highway Southfield, MI 48075 (on the southbound Lodge Service Drive, south of 10 Mile right before Mt Vernon)
After:	Shield's Restaurant Bar Pizzeria 25101 Telegraph Rd (just north of 10 Mile Road) Southfield, MI 48034
Details:	Doors open at The Northwest Unitarian Church*, in Southfield, at 7:00 p.m. for mingling with your fellow Mensans. The program begins at 8:00 p.m.
Stem Cell Research The Promise and the Controversy by Harley Berger, Vice-President A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that has the potential to develop into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body. Some researchers regard them as offering the greatest opportunity for the alleviation of human suffering since the development of antibiotics. Over 100 million Americans and two billion other humans worldwide suffer from diseases that may eventually be treated more effectively with stem cells or even cured. These include, among others: heart disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. While stem cell research has the potential to positively impact medical science, research using embryonic stem cells has proven to be an immensely sensitive topic. This is because the extraction of stem cells requires the destruction of a human embryo. Some opponents of the research consider the embryos to be human beings and their destruction during the stem cell extraction process morally unacceptable. Others argue that this practice is a slippery slope to reproductive cloning, another hot-button issue. To help make sense of it all, join us on Saturday, April 15, when our guest speaker will be Michigan State Representative Andy Meisner, (D-Ferndale) who has introduced bills to allow publicly-supported institutions to perform stem cell research, permit the creation of stem cells, and retain and strengthen Michigan’s ban on human cloning. Rep. Meisner will discuss the potential medical and economic promise of stem cell research and the legislation he supports. For more background information on stem cells, see: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/. * This is not a program of Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church.
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