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Making sense of stem cells Medical science: Federal funding needed to promote full potential of life-affirming research. Originally published Nov 4 2000 THE MIRACLE of embryonic stem cell research holds the cure for a number of incurable life-threatening diseases and disabilities. It is pro-life in the fullest sense. The discovery two years ago of these fundamental master cells that can generate all other tissue and organs of the human body has the potential to revolutionize medical research. Yet this incredibly promising opportunity poses a serious moral and political dilemma. Congress has barred federal funding for research using human embryos (and their cells), accepting the argument that these cells constitute early/potential human life. The one-week embryo is destroyed in extracting the microscopic cells, so most research is done by the private sector. That direction raises another serious moral concern: allowing invaluable humanitarian research to be driven solely by commercial gain, secretly and without public ethical oversight. Guidelines recently issued by the National Institutes of Health attempt to navigate these perilous pathways. They don't resolve all ambiguities and questions, but they provide a sound direction for funding vital medical research. Stem cells will be taken from frozen embryos left over from fertility treatments, obtained from private companies that receive no federal funding. Payments to embryo donors are banned. Research proposals are subject to strict, scientific and ethical reviews. Knowledge will be freely exchanged. Stem cells from adult tissue may hold research promise, but they are scarcer, less viable and less versatile in potential. They cannot substitute for embryonic stem cells, which are now simply discarded by fertility clinics. Congress expects to consider lifting the ban on federal funding next year. Meanwhile, the NIH guidelines must be implemented to encourage research that can be key to treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, heart and liver diseases. To do otherwise would be moral tragedy. http://www.sunspot.net/content/opinion/story?section=opinion&pagename=story&storyid=1150510 204150 If above URL "wraps" then Link from Opinion & Editorials· Making sense of stem cells - Baltimore Sun (Nov 4, 2000) Scroll down - right side... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001107/sc/britain_embryo_research_1.html [log in to unmask]