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The Dallas Morning News Sunday | February 4, 2001 UK leads stem cell research Abortion, cloning foes oppose efforts 02/05/2001 By Gregory Katz / The Dallas Morning News LONDON British scientists looking to cure a wide range of diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's have moved ahead of competitors in the United States and Europe after receiving government backing for the cloning of stem cells from human embryos. Medical researchers believe that the use of embryonic stem cells versatile cells in a developing embryo that can give rise to any type of body tissue may also prove effective in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other deadly diseases. Scientists believe that stem cells from human embryos may be injected into patients and used to "grow" healthy tissue and organs that can replace body parts malfunctioning because of disease. The British government is in favor of the controversial new research, despite expressed fears that it may lead to human cloning. In the United States, officials are taking a more cautious approach, in part because of staunch opposition from the influential anti-abortion lobby, which regards research on embryos as unacceptable. President Bush plans a review of government policy on embryonic stem cell research with an eye toward slowing it down. In Britain, leaders of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities have urged a go-slow approach to the research involving human embryos, but their concerns have failed to derail the new legislation, which is much more permissive than current rules on government research both in the United States and elsewhere in Europe. "Our government is driving stem cell research in a way that the U.S. government is not," said Lord Cary, who backed the proposal in the House of Lords last month. "We don't have the organized anti-abortion lobby that exists in the United States, and the Church of England is much weaker than it used to be as we have become a more secular society." Swayed by potential He said the scientific lobby is simply more influential than the religious lobby in today's Britain. And expert testimony suggesting that embryonic stem cell research could provide important breakthroughs within the next 25 years swayed lawmakers, he said. "We see this offering many positive possibilities," he said. "There may be treatment for muscular dystrophy, and congenital defects may be corrected. Diabetes may be eliminated." In the case of diabetes, for example, it is believed that stem cells could be developed into cells that can produce insulin. Researchers expect tests of this technique to begin within the next few years. While opposition in the United States has focused on the use of human embryos for research, opposition in Britain has come instead from people who worry that this is the first step toward human cloning and the eventual stockpiling of human organs for use by wealthy individuals. "There are fears of Frankenstein babies," Lord Cary said. "Human cloning is abhorrent. That would lead to spare parts. But the legislation against it is very strong, although there will be unscrupulous people who are tempted to try it." Only three companies in Britain are conducting embryonic stem cell research, along with a handful of academics, but this number is expected to increase sharply with the new rules endorsed by Parliament. "Most of the work is being done with mice, but my prediction is that human work will start now and new companies will move in because of the change in the British regulatory environment," said Simon Best, chairman of the Ethics Committee at Bio, a U.S. trade association of companies involved in bio-technology research. Britain's rapid embrace of embryonic stem cell research has angered some European leaders who feel the medical advantages offered by stem cells have been exaggerated while the ethical implications of the research have not been adequately studied. German Health Minister Andrea Fischer complained publicly that Britain had failed to address the possible dangers of the research. She also said there was no proof that stem cell therapy would be effective. And Noelle Lenior, chairman of the European Union's Ethical Committee, said Britain's action "raises the problem of the use of embryos to an almost industrial level." Safeguards touted Researchers in Britain and the United States who are anxious to avoid antagonizing the powerful anti-abortion community stress that the human embryos used for the isolation of stem cells do not come from pregnancies that were aborted for research purposes. They maintain that the only embryos used for the research come from two sources: women who aborted their pregnancies very early for unrelated reasons and agreed to have the embryos used for medical purposes, and from fertility clinics where successful treatment led to the creation of too many embryos for a woman to safely carry. But these caveats have failed to win over skeptics in the United States, and senior specialists in Britain believe they still may face organized opposition from the emerging right-to-life lobby. Britain's Pro-Life Alliance is already preparing a court challenge to the new legislation, and the charitable group Life with 35,000 members is considering various ways to try to prevent research on embryos. 'Very disturbing' Rachel Heath, a spokeswoman for Life, said the potential benefits of stem cells could be realized by using stem cells from adults, making it unnecessary to extract the cells from embryos. She said the group vehemently objects to withdrawing cells from embryos and developing those cells into human tissue. "Creating embryos in a petri dish is completely opposite to what we believe," she said. "This technology, if it works, would make it legal to extract cells from embryos and program the cells to create tissues and organs, which is basically creating life. We're surprised at how quickly this passed. Obviously for scientists in the United Kingdom to be ahead of everyone else in this is very exciting, but we find it very disturbing." She also said it was naοve for the government to maintain that strict regulation of the industry would prevent the cloning of human beings. Keith Campbell, a University of Nottingham professor who played a key role in the cloning of Dolly the sheep at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, said he believes the views of the pro-life lobby are not widely endorsed in Britain because many people have been convinced that stem cells offer important health-care advances. 'The same arguments' "We are getting the same arguments that are made in the United States against this research," he said. "There are groups that believe that life begins at conception and that you should not do any research involving embryos at all. But we have also been able to inform people of the potential benefits, and once they learn about it they are much more likely to be in favor of it." He said that stem cells from embryos are unique because they have the potential to be developed into virtually any type of human cell, including blood, muscle and nerve cells. "They have the ability to become any of the specialized cells within the body," he said. "Broadly, I would say they may be a major breakthrough in human medicine that will improve the quality of life for a large number of the population, particularly those with age-related disorders. We may be able to improve the immune system and treat HIV." The stem cell research has also been endorsed by Britain's chief medical officer and by the respected British Medical Journal. Associate editor Tessa Richards, who wrote the journal's editorial in support of the research, said she has some misgivings about using stem cells from embryos and is also concerned that the researchers touting the proposed new technology may have overstated the potential medical benefits. Regulation favored She also said recent advances have suggested that it may indeed be possible to make great advances using adult stem cells without resorting to the use of cells from embryos. But she said she was convinced by arguments that the research will continue regardless of whether it is approved particularly in privately funded projects in the United States and that it is preferable to have stem cell inquiries conducted in an open environment with government regulation to prevent abuses. "It's unquestionably very exciting research," she said. "Coming at it with evidence, logic suggests it should go forward. But I fully understand the people who are opposed." 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