Embryonic stem cell research returns to medicine’s arsenal

Embryonic stem cell research returns to medicine’s arsenal

With the stroke of a pen Monday, President Barack Obama ended what began with the stroke of a pen by another president, George W. Bush: a ban on federal funding for new medical research that involves the use of embryonic stem cells.

The reaction to Obama’s lifting the ban broke along predictable lines. Polls showed most scientists and physicians approved, and most people who believe that life begins at the very moment of conception — even conception in a laboratory dish — were chagrined or outraged.

One news release we saw asked, “Why would anyone be so bent on helping to grow industries that include gruesome dismembering and experimentation on other human beings?” Such language presents a distorted picture and is designed to inflame opposition to embryonic stem cell research.

Let’s be clear about what’s involved in embryonic stem cell research. Cells are harvested from embryos when they reach the blastocyst stage, 4–to-5 days after fertilization, when they consist of 50–to-150 cells. There is nothing discernibly human in such a tiny embryo, which measures about 0.15 mm (the diameter of an eyelash or the thickness of a sheet of paper). It is because the embryonic stem cells have not yet begun to split into the 220 cell types of the adult human body that they hold such potential for medical research.

Unique cells

Because of the uniqueness of these cells, many scientists believe them to hold the most promise for curing diseases such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s or for reversing damage to the spinal cord or other nerves. Polls have shown as many as 70 percent of the American public supports such research. Critics claim there are other, even better alternatives, than stem cells. Perhaps, or perhaps the potential of stem cells hasn’t yet been seen, in part because of the restrictions put in place by President Bush in 2001.

The idea that an embryo is equivalent to a human being and should be treated as such is a belief to which anyone is entitled, and one which certain religions or sects embrace. It is not, however a universally accepted truth. It is not a belief that should define federal policy or limit medical research.

It should also be recognized that embryonic stem cells are generally harvested from leftover embryos created for in vitro fertilization. There are nearly 400,000 such embryos across the country, frozen in liquid nitrogen. Nearly 90 percent are targeted for patient use, but each year thousands are discarded. No law or presidential directive barred the destruction of embryos; all President Bush did was prohibit their use in federally funded research.

Any religious leader is free to tell his followers that they can’t use fertility clinics or create test tube embryos. Churches can prohibit their members from knowingly accepting medical treatment that was developed through the use of stem cell research. That is their prerogative.

But people of other faiths — or no faith at all — who are suffering through disease or injury should not be denied hope for a treatment or cure because of the beliefs of a minority.