MASSACHUSETTS: Science Or Killing? Senate To Tackle Stem Cell Research
By JULIE MEHEGAN
Sun Statehouse Bureau
Article Last Updated: Sunday, November 16, 2003 - 2:12:55 AM EST

BOSTON Ron Bielicki has been a paraplegic for 20 years but holds onto the hope that he may walk again some day .

Bielicki has tethered his dreams of walking onto the promises of stem cell research, and is backing a proposal in the
Legislature in support of embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts.

"It could change my life, or it could change others who have been injured," said Bielicki, a board member of the
Greater Boston chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. "I don't know if people who are against this
feel the same way or see things the way we see things."

To medical researchers, "generic" stem cells with the potential to regenerate and produce specialized tissues in the
body hold the promise of life-changing medical advances in the fight against Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig disease and spinal
cord injury.

But to some people, one particular type of stem cell research conducted on cells derived from human embryos threatens
the sanctity of life.

Now the controversy has come to Beacon Hill, with a proposal by the Senate to spell out the state's support for
embryonic stem cell research.

It is part of an effort to attract and retain prized biotechnology companies, and is included in the Senate's version
of a pending $115 million economic stimulus package that also includes research and development tax credits and other
business incentives.

The proposal asks lawmakers to declare that "human embryonic stem cell research ... (presents) a significant chance of
yielding fundamental biological knowledge from which may emanate therapies to relieve, on a large scale, human
suffering from disease and injury."

The proposal also spells out that the state supports such research only on donated human embryos remaining after in-
vitro fertilization, and it bans human cloning.

Supporters note that the research in question is already taking place in Massachusetts. The language in the Senate bill
would only clarify the definition of embryo under state law, which some say is vague and could prompt research
companies to defect to more-welcoming states like California, which passed a similar law last year.

It is also meant to send a signal to researchers and biotechnology companies that the state welcomes their work.

"It essentially memorializes the stem cell research and the promise that it holds for regenerative medicine," said
Vicki Greene, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, pointing out that Massachusetts has the
largest concentration of biotechnology companies in the world. "We think we need it to shore up our global leadership
position in biotechnology."

But critics of embryonic stem cell research want the scientific community to concentrate research efforts on adult stem
cells, arguing there is little evidence that embryonic cells will open doors to medical advancements that adult stem
cells cannot.

Leading the fight against stem cell research is the Catholic Church, which argues that using human embryos for research
violates the religious principle that life begins at conception.

"It's a pernicious approach to public policy to say that in order to cure person A, we need to kill person B, and
ignore or overshadow all of the ways of curing person A that don't involve killing anyone," said Daniel Avila,
associate director for policy and research for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm of the church in
Massachusetts.

Some also argue that the language in the Senate proposal leaves the door open for cloning of human embryos for research
purposes.

But Sen. Cynthia Creem, a Newton Democrat who sponsored the Senate proposal, said critics have unfairly tried to align
the discussion of stem cell research with the abortion debate.

Creem said the legislation is clear that embryonic stem cell research could take place only on three- to five-day-old
embryos that have been donated with the informed consent of the donor.

"They sit there, they get old, or they get thrown away or discarded, or they stay frozen forever," Creem said. "There
is so much promise there. Why would we limit it?"

It is unclear whether the proposal in the Senate will survive negotiations with the House, which passed its own
economic stimulus package without a section addressing stem cell research. A conference committee is negotiating a
compromise that will be taken up this week.

Even if the House agrees to go along with the Senate proposal, it is unclear if Gov. Mitt Romney would sign it. Romney,
whose wife is battling multiple sclerosis, "sees tremendous potential" in stem cell research, said his spokeswoman,
Shawn Feddeman, but he has not yet taken a position on the Senate proposal.

The debate in Massachusetts mirrors an ongoing national debate over the ethical ramifications of stem cell research. In
2001, President George W. Bush limited federal funding for stem cell research projects to 70 existing embryonic stem
cell lines, and appointed a national commission to study the issue.

Julie Mehegan's e-mail address is [log in to unmask]

SOURCE: Lowell Sun, MA
http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~1770288,00.html

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