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Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS Community WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 2001 6 can prevent eye damage Early diagnosis Certain eye diseases may Diabetic retinopathy, when beginning. However, early di- cause eye damage and vision loss without any apparent warning signs or symptoms, the American Optometric AssociaTherefore some tion says. can diseases gradually deeye stroy vision without a person being aware of it. For example, the most common type of glaucoma, which causes increased pressure inside the eye and damage to the optic nerve, develops gradually and painlessly without the effects of diabetes weaken the blood vessels that nourish the eyes retina, also often occurs without early symptoms. Both of these diseases can lead to blindness. There is no way that patients can check for these diseases on their own, said Timothy A. Wingert, O.D., a member of the AOA Nursing Home and Geriatric Practice Committee. They could have possible complications with the eye that wouldnt necessarily affect vision in the agnosis is critical because prompt treatment can often control eye diseases and prevent further eye damage, he said. Optometrists can diagnose an eye disease even if the patient has not experienced any symptoms by examining the inside of the eye and using special equipment. An annual visit to the optometrist will keep patients inIn the current debates over formed of general eye health human cloning and embryonic and perhaps even save their, stem cell research, two things vision. stand out: first, everyone involved goes to great lengths to assert At Participating Retailers that human life is sacred; second, none of them can quite agree on what human life really is, let alone when it begins and where it ends. That makes it very difficult for bioethicists to decide whether a collection ofcells that someone PAYMENT wants to clone or experiment on OR INTEREST is a real human being or not. FOR 6 MONTHS Now Through Decmeber 31 2001 And the more you look into it all, on Bridgestone or Firestone brand the more complicated it gets. passenger and light truck tires a:' t W tf&sefr Thats because theres a fundamental flaw in the whole concept ofthe sanctity ofhuman life - namely, that it excludes all other forms of life from this mantle of holiness in which we now enshrine our own species. tttnmesTom In early human societies, all life was seen as sacred - every animal was considered a manifestation of the divine. Hawks and ravens were the eyes of God, and Bridgestone For Cars Like Yours! lions represented Gods strength and majesty. Dogs stood at the gates of the afterlife, cats protected people from evil, and even the lowly dung beetle, rolling tiny balls of dung along the ground, was seen as representing the chariot that drove the sun gods golden orb across the sky. It was a world of majesty and awe, plenty and plague, creation and destruction, all imbued with sanctity through the wonder in which it was beheld. Closer to our own time, the founders of the LDS church, like the founders of all the worlds greatest religions, saw the animals and all of nature as being part of a great and sacred continuum of life. And they all knew that we humans could not truly Re: Stem cell research ill Samb Tft board in sacrificing humans to the gods of nature, its worth bearing in mind that today all of nature is routinely sacrificed to that greatest of all gods: Me. Those who claim that only human life is sacred are doomed to an increasingly soulless debate over exactly when, where, and how human life begins and ends. And that raises questions like what exactly is more special about a human embryo than, say, a conscious, self-awar-e, - v, r V',,-.- , hmSSL? tJltWt ( ,iunt y y:' ' $5 OFF any Oil Change! lv N FREE 4-Ti- i J re Rotation ' S Now, Theres a 7 y & Complete Tire I Inspection v A 7 N hridgestonetire.com $10 OFF you do not achieve guaranteed mileage, your Bridgestone retailer will replace your tires on a prorated basis Actual tread lile may vary All warranties apply only to original owner on onginally installed vehicle See retailer lor details, restnctions and copy of each limited warranty "Excludes winter tires and temporary spares Credit terms made available by Credit First AND Association National BRIDGESTONE FIRESTONE BRAND PASSENGER AND LIGHT TRUCK TIRES SPECIAL PROMOTION TERMS Any purchase of Bndgestone or Firestone brand passenger or light truck tires and related automotive services No Finance Charge when paid according to terms No monthly payments required Minimum monthly payment required for residents of Arizona and North Carolina If not paid m full in 6 months, promotional purchases accrue Finance from of will the Finance date and be accrued Charges purchase, imposed from the purchase date through the Charges beginning of the 6th billing cycle following the date of the transaction Offer expires Decmebr 31, 2001 REGULAR CREDIT TERMS No payment for 90 Days on qualifying pruchases Minimum monthly payment required for residents of Arizona and North Carolina No interest due on qualifying purchases if paid in full within 90 days Accrued interest will be assessed from the original purchase date if not paid in full within 90 days FOR ALL CREDIT PURCHASES Sub)ect to credit approval Interest at a fixed rate of 21 84 APR Minimum finance charge $0 50 See store or your Credit Card Agreement for further details H Computer Wheel Alignment I A ld chimpanzee (let alone your pet at home who can still be sold to a research facility if, as happened to Mona in the photo here, he or she gets lost and ends up at a shelter that sells homeless pets to laboratories). The deeper you examine it, the more you have to conclude , all frr 40-year-o- that human life doesnt really begin or end anywhere. Its all part of a greater web of life - a web so vast and intricate that it is probably infinite. Seeing ourselves as part of this greater continuum may be something of a blow to the individual human ego, but it makes for a richer and more satisfying life. It also lessens much of the fear of death that fuels so much of modem medicine. Certainly we should respect and cherish human life, young and old, bom and unborn, and from all backgrounds. But one of the best ways we can make human life truly significant is by setting an example of kindness and decency to the other forms of life that we share the planet with. Only by treating all life as sacred, can we touch the sacred within ourselves. enter the promised kingdom until we had learned compassion and kindness toward all other living creatures. But in our modern world, the other animals are considered little more than a warehouse of spare parts in service of the one sacred creation: humankind. One effect of all this is that before any research begins oh human embryos, millions of living adult animals - dogs, cats, mice, primates - will have been subjected to medical experi- Mona was sold by a shelter to a ments without any public delaboratory and then used for medical bate at all. experiments. Afterbeing rehabilitated And while modern society at Best Friends, she went to a new tends to look down on early man-kin- d home and now lives with a loving for sometimes going over- - - family. Photo by Jana de Peyer., . : |