Stem cell conference day 2: A political perspective

(Vatican Radio) An International Conference on Adult Stem Cell research is into its second day here at the Vatican. Speaking at the gathering Friday will be dr. John Gurdon, who, jointly won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for demonstrating that skin could be reverted back to an embryonic-like stem cell state.

The focus on Friday will also be on the politics, perceptions and promise of stem cell therapies and will feature a panel discussion.

One of the participants on the panel will be former US Senator from Minnesota Norm Coleman.

He spoke to Lydia O’Kane about the role politics plays in the stem cell debate.

“My story will be a cautionary tale about the reality that politics does play a role here, that it’s not just about science and that these are powerful political issues and somehow we have to educate the public about what the science is and we still have to, I think consider the moral implications of the things that we do…”

Senator Coleman also adds that faith and morality a critically important to the scientific calculation.

The conference runs until Saturday 14^th April. Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Norm Coleman.