STEM CELLS
A Bipartisan Victory

In a rare show of strong, bipartisan support, members of both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives joined together to overwhelmingly pass a bill to expand federally funded stem cell research. (Here’s the vote.) The measure would allow scientists to use stem cells derived from embryos created for in vitro fertilization which otherwise would be destroyed as medical waste. It also has strong bipartisan backing in the Senate; yesterday, Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) sent a letter to Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) urging a Senate vote to expand embryonic stem cell research “without amendment as soon as possible.” President Bush, however, putting ideology over science, has vowed to use his first veto to block this measure.

UNDERSTANDING STEM CELLS: Don’t confuse stem cell research with the emotionally charged debate surrounding abortion; they are very, very different issues. An embryo is not a fetus; it's a cluster of about 150 cells, also known as a blastocyst, which forms a few days after the joining of a sperm and egg, and is no larger than the period at the end of this sentence. Within the center of this cluster are the stem cells, which are like biological blank slates. These cells have the potential to become any of the 200 kinds of cells that make up the human body. Many scientists believe stem cell research could one day be used to treat people living in pain with serious illnesses such as spinal injuries, Alzheimer's, strokes, brain injuries, Parkinson's, diabetes and heart defects.

EXISTING POLICY: President Bush yesterday said, “I also made available for the first time federal funds for embryonic stem cell research in order to explore the potential of these cells.” In fact, Bush’s policies handcuffed U.S. scientists and kept them from making advances in the field. After taking office, President Bush limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research to what he called the “more than 60” lines already in existence as of 8 p.m. on August 9, 2001. In fact, fewer than two dozen of those lines were actually viable, and even those are tainted and inferior to those being used in private research. They were all developed using cells from mice, for example, meaning they will never be able to produce usable human therapies.

ADULT VS. EMBRYONIC: Bush advocated scientists using adult bone marrow and umbilical cord blood instead of embryonic stem cells. Umbilical and embryonic stem cells “are not in any way interchangeable,” said David Scadden, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine and Technology. In a letter sent to President Bush, a group of 80 Nobel laureates agreed, saying “current evidence suggests that adult stem cells have markedly restricted differentiation potential.” The fact remains that stem cells derived from bone marrow and umbilical cord blood have less potential than those from embryos. Adult stem cell lines are difficult to work with and cannot develop – or “differentiate” – into all types of cells like embryonic stem cells can; for example, they are unable to produce insulin-producing cells to fight diabetes. Umbilical stem cells also are only able to develop into “the components of blood – red cells, white cells and platelets.”

SURPLUS EMBRYOS: President Bush surrounded himself with adorable toddlers born from test-tube embryos yesterday in a blatant attempt to manipulate public emotion against stem cell research. Here are the facts about the tens of thousands of surplus embryos. Couples having trouble getting pregnant who undergo in vitro fertilization usually get from 8 to 10 fertilized eggs. Once the couple becomes pregnant, the leftover fertilized eggs – the embryos – are either left in storage indefinitely or destroyed as medical waste. A few of these scientifically generated embryos have been donated to other couples trying to conceive, so far resulting in 80 other births. The estimated 400,000 other surplus embryos will otherwise be incinerated. These are the cells the House voted to allow to be used for stem cell research.

NO CREATION OF EMBRYOS: The bill that passed the House yesterday does not support the creation of embryos for research. In fact, it contains safeguards designed to ensure it will only apply to these tens of thousands of embryos which will otherwise be incinerated. For example, it “stipulates that the embryos must have been created by individuals seeking fertility treatment and who then discovered that they had produced ‘in excess of the clinical need.’” It also requires that “those donors give permission for the embryos to be used in stem-cell research, and forbids them from receiving any compensation.”

AMERICANS APPROVE: Stem cell research received a boost last year after the deaths of both President Ronald Reagan and actor Christopher Reeves. (Former First Lady Nancy Reagan personally called lawmakers to express her support before yesterday’s vote.) A majority of Americans – 58 percent, according to a new CBS poll – approve of stem cell research. In a separate poll last month of registered Republicans, 69 percent said “they believe embryonic stem-cell research generates significant medical and scientific advances.”