This summer has brought a tremendous increase of awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease through the Ice Bucket Challenge.
This creative social media phenomenon has raised millions of dollars for this worthy cause. However, there is a serious ethical concern about funding research that uses embryonic stem cells.
In order to foster greater understanding of the ethical issues involved in this situation, I am attaching a helpful article by the ethical board of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
The basic summary is this: If you are going to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, send the funds to an agency that does not support embryonic stem cell research. Some such agencies are mentioned in the attached article.