No Such Thing as a Spare Embryo

From FOX:

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers voted to loosen restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research Tuesday, despite President Bush's threat to veto the legislation.

In a second vote, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved devoting more funds to the research of stem cells collected from umbilical cord blood — a measure the White House supported. The bill was approved 431-1.

The house approved the embryonic stem cell bill by a 238-194 vote, but that number is short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override the Bush's apparently inevitable veto.

As the vote tallies indicate, lawmakers overwhelmingly back more funding for the research of stem cells from cord blood. When it comes to providing federal funding for research that destroys embryos, that near unanimous support disappears.

Obviously, stem cell research is an emotionally charged issue on many levels. For those believing that life begins at conception (like John Kerry), destroying life to preserve life is a moral dilemma.

Putting the ethical issues aside for a moment, it is helpful to understand the state of research on embryonic and adult stem cells.

U.S. Florida Congressman Dave Weldon, an OB/GYN, says, "Adult stem cells and, in particular, cord blood stem cells are going to be the sources for the regenerative, miraculous medicine in the future. Embryonic stem cell research is just not getting good research results."

While embryonic stem cell research has yet to cure a single patient, so far, more than 6,000 patients and 66 diseases have been successfully treated with stem cells from cord blood.

There are no currently approved treatments being used on patients as a result of research on embryonic stem cells. No human trials are underway. Twenty years of embryonic stem cell studies reveal that they have produced tumors, caused transplant rejection, and have formed the wrong kind of needed replacement cells.

Because embryonic stem cell research has been shown to be problematic, private investors have put their money toward adult stem cell research.

It should be noted that no one has put the brakes on embryonic stem cell research in the private sector. Nothing stands in the way of privately funded research projects.

All of this doesn't begin to address the moral issues involved when experimenting on human embryos. (Keep in mind how vehemently some people oppose using animals in medical research and testing, finding the exploitation of animals to be morally objectionable, even when medical advances and cures are at stake.)

The bill the President says he will veto would give federal funding to research that involves the destruction of embryos. He believes this "would take us across a critical ethical line by creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life. Crossing this line would be a great mistake."



Today in the East Room of the White House, President Bush made remarks on bioethics, specifically addressing stem cell research. He spoke to families that had either "adopted or given up for adoption frozen embryos that remained after fertility treatments."

The President said:

I believe America must pursue the tremendous possibilities of science, and I believe we can do so while still fostering and encouraging respect for human life in all its stages. In the complex debate over embryonic stem cell research, we must remember that real human lives are involved --both the lives of those with diseases that might find cures from this research, and the lives of the embryos that will be destroyed in the process. The children here today are reminders that every human life is a precious gift of matchless value.

...The rapid advance of science presents us with the hope of eventual cures for terrible diseases, and with profound moral and ethical dilemmas. The decisions we make today will have far-reaching consequences. So we must aggressively move forward with medical research, while also maintaining the highest ethical standards.

...Even now researchers are exploring alternative sources of stem cells, such as adult bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, as well as different ethical ways of getting the same kind of cells now taken from embryos without violating human life or dignity. With the right policies and the right techniques, we can pursue scientific progress while still fulfilling our moral duties.

After explaining the need to proceed with research in a manner that does not make ethical compromises, President Bush acknowledged the work of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, a group that has "matched over 200 biological parents with about 140 adoptive families, resulting in the birth of 81 children so far, with more on the way."

With the cries and giggles of little ones in the background, President Bush pointed out:

The children here today remind us that there is no such thing as a spare embryo. Every embryo is unique and genetically complete, like every other human being. And each of us started out our life this way. These lives are not raw material to be exploited, but gifts. And I commend each of the families here today for accepting the gift of these children and offering them the gift of your love.