 |
 |
Hi All, There are lots of us out there beating the drum for stem cell research... here in Canada too.... murray ***************** Health News - updated 5:35 PM ET Jan 22 Monday January 22 2:12 PM ET Many Americans Favor Stem Cell Research By Charnicia E. Huggins NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nearly two-thirds of Americans support federal funding for stem-cell research, according to a recent poll commissioned by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF). This high level of public approval is significant because the incoming Bush administration is debating whether or not to halt government funding for such research, which often involves the use of human embryos. ``I think it really does indicate that there is strong support out there for stem cell research to move forward,'' Lawrence Soler, director of government relations at JDRF told Reuters Health. The most promising type of stem cells are found in human embryos, which have the ability to give rise to many different types of cells in the human body. Researchers hope to harness the cells and use them to replace those damaged by variety of different illnesses. In a survey conducted in mid-January, 2001, more than 1,000 individuals were asked whether they ``favor or oppose the funding of stem cell research by the National Institutes of Health.'' Prefacing the question was the statement that ``medical researchers believe that human stem cells can be developed into replacement cells to cure diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, burns, or spinal cord problems.'' The participants were also told that stem cells are collected ``from excess human embryos developed through in vitro fertilization and fetal tissue that has been donated to research.'' About 33% of the respondents said they ``strongly favor'' the funding and an additional 33% said they ``somewhat favor'' the funding, survey results indicate. Nine percent said they ``don't know.'' Men were more likely than women (68% vs. 63%) to favor federal funding and high school graduates were more likely than non-graduates to favor the funding (68% vs. 61%). ``People were told in the question where stem cells come from, so we weren't trying to hide anything,'' Soler said. ``People had a sense that this is affiliated with an issue that some people consider controversial.'' In light of the survey results, recent campaign-trail discussions of putting a stop to stem cell research funding ``may have been made too quickly,'' Soler said. ``More thought needs to go into determining what the new administration's position is on this research on this issue, he said. ``There's a lot of people out there who are affected by the diseases that could be cured or treated by stem cell research.'' http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010122/hl/cell_research_1.html *****************