To the editor:

This letter is in support of Amendment 2.

I urge every individual to do their research before making a decision on how they’d like to vote. The propaganda against Amendment 2 is overwhelming, and, quite frankly, ridiculously false.

The bottom line is this: Stem-cell research will illuminate a pathway of cures to many debilitating diseases, including Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and many other diseases that have undoubtedly touched each and every one of us in some way.

The fanatics who claim stem-cell research is taking lives could not be more wrong. In embryonic stem-cell research, the research is done while the embryo is in the blastocyst stage. This stage is made up of a collection of 100 to 300 undifferentiated cells. This collection of cells lacks a brain, central nervous system, heart, lungs, self-awareness, memory, thought processes or consciousness.

Keep that in mind when you vote Nov. 7. We have the potential to save countless lives thanks to the advances in stem-cell research.

I can’t think of what I wouldn’t give to hold the hand of my grandpa again, whose disease took him from our family far too soon — or to see my brother live free of the diabetes that clouds over every day of his life.

If we all pause for just a moment, we can surely think of someone in our lives we wish this research could have saved. It’s up to us to make an informed decision, and it’s up to us to help protect and save future generations.

Laury Rodenbeck

Oakville