by Pete Winn, associate editor
Scientists -- and family advocates -- say the House should consider the new research before voting to expand funding for destructive stem-cell science.
Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research rejoiced today at news that scientists from Wake Forest and Harvard have discovered a new source of stem cells that doesn't involve the destruction of human embryos -- and have used the source to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells in the laboratory.
"Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs as well," said Dr. Anthony Atala, senior researcher and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Dr. David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, said the research is very exciting news, indeed.
"They found that they could get adult-type stem cells from amniotic fluid -- the liquid that cushions the baby as it's developing -- and from the placenta, the afterbirth," said Prentice, a former university biology professor.
"The exciting thing is that these cells show all of the positives that people are looking for: They are so flexible in being able to form virtually any tissue of the body; you can keep them growing for a long time in the laboratory; they don't form tumors -- it looks like they might not even cause transplant rejection."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the Family Action, was also encouraged by the news.
"This is one of a number of studies in recent years showing versatility and promise from using live-birth products -- amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and placenta," she said.
"It's ironic that while some members of Congress and scientists are fixated on destroying human embryos for research, we continue to see that young humans are more valuable to science alive than dead."
Researcher Atala said a stem-cell bank with 100,000 specimens could theoretically supply 99 percent of the U.S. population with "perfect genetic matches" of organs for transplantation.
The news is all the more poignant because on Thursday, the newly reorganized House of Representatives will consider a bill to expand federal funding of research that requires the killing of human embryos.
Sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., H.R. 3 would dramatically increase the number of stem-cell lines eligible for federally funded research grants. In 2001, President Bush approved federal funding for research on only a very limited number of stem-cell lines left over from in-vitro fertilization -- and already scheduled for destruction.
Earll predicted the amniotic research will be talked about on Capitol Hill over the next three days.
"This will cause a ripple preceding the vote on Thursday -- and will put some pressure on some members of the House to take a good hard look at whether destroying human embryos is necessary," she said.
One new congressman, Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., agreed.
Roskam, who was elected last November to succeed longtime pro-life stalwart Henry Hyde, said the new amniotic research is exactly what Congress should be considering Thursday -- not research that destroys human embryos.
"There's a lot of interest on both sides of the aisle -- and on both sides of the life issue -- for pursuing other types of stem-cell research, such as adult and cord-blood research, which has been receiving federal funding since 2001," Roskam told CitizenLink.
"I think the Democrats had an opportunity to frame the debate and concentrate on some bread-and-butter issues -- taxes, spending, and so forth -- and yet, here they go; they get the majority and jump right in and move some very controversial legislation. There's no doubt that embryonic stem-cell research is moral quicksand -- and is a very difficult issue to discuss clearly."
As the bill stands now, Roskam plans to vote no. Some of his House colleagues will be in a quandary, he said.
"I think there's going to be a lot of Democrats, who described themselves in their campaigns as pro-life and won, who are going to be in a very difficult situation -- either voting their pro-life constituency, or voting with their Democratic leaders," he said.
The congressman said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., have decreed that no amendments or changes can be added to the stem-cell bill -- or to any of the bills Democrats hope to pass in the first 100 hours of Congress.
Last May, the House voted 238-194 to approve the DeGette bill, but President Bush vetoed the measure in July. Would he do so again if it makes it to his desk a second time? Bush adviser Tim Goeglein didn't say exactly, but made his boss's position on the issue clear.
"President Bush has welcomed snowflake children (adopted human embryos who grow up and become children) and their parents to the White House twice," Goeglein told CitizenLink. "Those visits underscore his commitment to the culture of life. He has been proactive on a stem-cell policy that underscores human dignity."
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003573.cfm
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