A few people have emailed or asked whether I would do it. No, I wouldn’t, because I never want to encourage the use of embryos for scientific research. (NB: Stem cells need not be embryonic. There is much research that can be done without using embryos, and to date, it’s been more effective, anyway.)
Then I saw this about Matt Damon who disagrees with the challenge for different, but also valid, reasons.
He was creative in his rejection of the challenge, as you can watch below.
It got me thinking. How could pro-lifers be creative in rejecting the challenge? What I like about Matt Damon’s response is he drew positive attention to his cause. A little levity can go a long way. So pro-lifers, what could we do?
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlGhuud-s4w]
by 
Hi, Andrea, et al,
As a medical student, the first five (yes, five in a row) patients that I had direct (supervised) responsibility for had ALS. That made an impact.
So what is a pro-lifer to do? On the one hand, I recognize that money is fungible, and that if I support any ALS research, even if I stipulate that MY money shouldn’t be used for embryonic stem cell (ESC) research, someone somewhere may redirect other resources toward ESC research. On the other hand, if I provide support expressly for research that does NOT involve ESC (i.e., autologous mesenchymal stem cell research – search “BrainStorm” and “ALS” for more information), then I may motivate ALS researchers and their supporters to consider moving away from ESCs towards other options, in part because they will know that there are others like me who won’t support ESC.
Also, note that ALS Canada does not and has not supported ESC research. From https://www.als.ca/en/research/stem-cells —
“We don’t support or have not supported any research with human embryos or human embryonic stem cells…For any questions, regarding the ALS Canada Research Program, please contact David Taylor, Director of Research, dt@als.ca”
I’ll be doing the bucket challenge later today. (It’s hard to be the Associate Dean for Medical Education and escape it.) I’ll be explicit that my donation will be directed toward the new Phase II BrainStorm studies into the use of autologous mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of ALS. I hope that doing so will encourage my students to ask more questions, and then we’ll be able to unpack the issue further. I hope this approach will actually lead to more opportunities to speak with students about my opposition to ESC research than a blanket, up-front refusal to participate would have done.
Not necessarily Matt Damon level creative, but that’s what this pro-lifer has decided to do with it.
Thank you, Sheila. I appreciate this. Sounds like you’ve found a good balance! I suspect there will be more questions, too.