Today at 2:00 Eastern Standard Time, President Bush will likely veto legislation that would allow federal funds to be used to create new stem cell lines. Sixty-three senators backed HR 810 yesterday. Thirty-nine voted against it.
This is a defeat, and it impedes the potential to research treatments for numerous diseases. But don't despair. There is ample stem cell research occurring. It is not illegal to perform stem cell research. There are countries, companies and universities creating new stem cell lines, and pursuing research with those stem cells.
This page from the Geron Corporation highlights a human clinical trial it hopes to sponsor to treat spinal cord injuries. Its results in animal experiments have been encouraging.
This blog post highlights an organization called the New York Stem Cell Foundation, which funds a stem cell lab staffed by scientists from prestigious universities.
Many European and Asian countries have used government funds to propel stem cell research. Potential findings would likely translate into treatments all over the world.
Back to The Politics
Just moments after the vote, actor Michael J. Fox sent a letter to President George W. Bush, encouraging him to stand down from his veto threat. He wrote:
“Embryonic stem cell research transforms embryos already marked for destruction into potentially life-saving research.
“I am asking that you, with all compassion, stand up for what is right not only for America’s continued leadership in health, science and medicine, but for what is right for the future of the 100 million American families touched by debilitating diseases. Please Mr. President, sign this legislation.”
However, Fox’s letter, and the influence of many others that reach the President are unlikely to change his mind. According to President Bush’s Press Secretary, Tony Snow, the President sides with many people who believe that harvesting stem cells is murder. In a Washington DC press briefing yesterday, Snow fielded the following question from a reporter:
“Can you remind us why the President believes that it is not appropriate to use -- that it is more appropriate for stem cells to be thrown away than to be used, in this case, for medical research?”
Snow responds:
“The President -- I don't think that's the choice that the President has presented. What the President has said is that he doesn't want human life destroyed. Now, you may consider that insignificant, but the President has said -- and you have had in a number of cases the Snowflake babies, where some of those fetuses have, in fact, been brought to term and have become human beings. The President believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder; he's one of them.”
Snow continues:
“Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that this government did make available already existing lines -- to sort of get back to your question, there were existing lines. And the most recent figures we have are 2004, but 85 percent of all the embryonic stem cell research on Earth was conducted using those lines. There is nothing that makes embryonic stem cell research illegal; it simply says that the federal government will not finance it. As you know, there are ongoing efforts in some states, including, I think, California and Massachusetts, to use state money for it, and I daresay if people think that there's a market for it, they're going to support it handsomely. The simple answer is he thinks murder is wrong.”
This is a fundamental moment for our democracy. People have broken the shackles of the conservative vs. liberal mental incarceration. People actually learned what a stem cell is and where it comes from.
I would never try to shame a person’s faith, or mock them for following a precept of it. You need faith to get through this life. I do want to point out that millions of people, who staunchly oppose abortion, recognize how stem cells derived from an embryo could possibly save many lives someday.
Does this introduce progression down the abortion slippery slope? It is a real risk and possibility. Could stem cell research ironically represent progression up the slippery slope and discourage abortion? Certainly. Paradoxically, embryonic stem cells also hold the potential to help elevate the pro-life stance and cancel out some pro-choice arguments. The power of the embryo to save and improve multiple lives indeed bespeaks the embryo’s value within hours of conception. It elevates the beauty and worth of life from its very inception.
