2007年VOA标准英语-Embryonic Research Poses Dilemma for Religious

By Ted¹ Landphair
Washington
26 July 2007
 

For a second time in a year, President Bush has vetoed a bill that would have sanctioned federally funded stem cell research using human embryos³.  His stance reflects conservatives' view that destroying life to create life is immoral⁴. But VOA's Ted Landphair reports that when the longing⁵ for a healthy baby hits home, views can change.

Jeff and Le Jeanna Raymond with baby Pender

Jeff and Le Jeanna Raymond are ecstatic parents.  But creating their beautiful daughter, Pender, wasn't easy. Jeff was a minister in the conservative Southern Baptist Church in rural North Carolina. 

Throughout ten years of marriage, the Raymonds had hoped and prayed for children.  But there was a problem.  Le Jeanna was a carrier of a genetic⁶ disorder⁷ called ‘Fragile X Syndrome⁸.’ "There are four members of my family who are mentally retarded⁹ and physically¹⁰ limited because of this condition," she explained.

The couple did not want to bring a disabled child into the world. 

But then Le Jeanna heard about research at the Shady Grove¹¹ Fertility Center in Maryland. There, in a procedure called P-G-D, or Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis¹², a woman's eggs are extracted and fertilized¹³ with her husband's sperm¹⁴. Those resulting embryos with defective¹⁵ genes¹⁶ are discarded.  A healthy embryo² is implanted in the mother's womb, and pregnancy¹⁷ begins.

Pender

Even though religious conservatives generally believe that life begins at conception, and that destroying human life is a sin, the Raymonds signed up. And the result was . . . little Pender. "The joy and life experiences that we are now going through are immeasurable, and there's no [financial] figure you can put on the joy that we have."

Jeff Raymond says the decision to proceed with the controversial procedure gave him no moral qualms¹⁸ whatever. "For us, we feel like God was in the midst of the decision-making process. Anything in the world can be used for good or for evil.  And technology is the same as anything else."

Le Jeanna adds, "We felt there was a difference between designing a baby with blue eyes and brown hair, or to be tall, or intelligent, was different than to be testing whether a baby was healthy or not."

William Kearns

Indeed, geneticist William Kearns makes it clear to all patients that the Shady Grove Fertility Clinic does not make "designer babies." "You come in, you say, 'You know, I want to have a child that's intelligent, athletic¹⁹, has blond hair, blue eyes, and an I.Q. [intelligence quotient] of 130.'  I would bet in my lifetime that will be possible.  But that doesn't mean we should do it. We're helping²⁰ many families achieve their dream.  And I think that is good.  I know it is good."

The entire experience cost the Raymonds’ close to $36,000.

Payments were made in installments²¹ says Le Jeanna. "We looked at it like a car payment.  You would buy a car that costs that much.  Why not invest in a possibility of a child?"

The Raymonds say their church was so supportive of their decision that when the embryo was successfully implanted, a congregant sent a note around that read: "We're pregnant!"

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

3 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

4 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

5 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 retarded   

a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
• He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

12 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

13 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

14 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

15 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

16 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

17 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

18 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

19 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。