Many Americans Favor Stem Cell Research
By Charnicia E. Huggins
NEW YORK, January 22, 2001 (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.''
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Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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