Mary Henry (Independent)

I support the call for a debate on stem cell research. What Senator Browne said was very important. We need to include in this debate what our attitudes will be towards any treatments that may be found useful. Will we, in fact, insist that they are not allowed in this country? Another topic that should be included in the debate is what our attitude will be towards the various pharmaceutical companies in this country who are carrying out stem cell research in other countries. How do we feel about that?

We must ensure that this debate is broad and realistic. Like many people, I have concerns about the ethics of working with embryonic stem cells. At the same time I recognise the possibilities with them. There has not been much concrete evidence yet of cures as regards various neurological diseases, in particular. However, given the responses of people with conditions such as motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis and so forth, perhaps my attitude my be different if I was suffering from any of those diseases.

We must, however, address the situation of the pharmaceutical companies as well. It must be recalled that these are the people who are making the profits from such research, not the individual research workers. We must look at the pharmaceutical companies as well.