 |
 |
The Salt Lake Tribune - Saturday, March 10, 2001 If the President Is Pro-Life, He Should Agree With Stem-Cell Research Steve and Cokie Roberts President Bush is about to make a major decision regarding federally funded research that holds great promise for medical advancement. The research is fiercely opposed by anti-abortion forces because it utilizes embryonic material called stem cells, but the president should take the real "pro-life" position and let funding go forward. Opponents of stem-cell studies maintain that women will abort pregnancies in order to produce research material. They talk darkly about an underground trade in fetuses and body parts. But under strict federal guidelines, scientists can only work on embryos produced by medical clinics for possible fertility treatments that don't occur. And to make sure there is no profit motive involved, embryo donors cannot be paid. (Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, estimates there are about 100,000 embryos preserved at clinics and available for research.) Accordingly, the only real arguments against stem-cell research are political, not medical or scientific. And Bush should stand up against the fear-mongering of the anti-abortion movement and make a "pro-life" decision that could improve the health and well-being of countless Americans. When Bill Clinton endorsed the research last summer, he said it had "potentially staggering benefits" for patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and many other serious illnesses. Last month a group of 80 Nobel laureates wrote a letter to the new president, urging him not to reverse Clinton's decision to permit federal funding. "While we recognize the legitimate ethical issues raised by this research," the scientists wrote, "it is important to understand that the cells being used in this research were destined to be discarded in any case. Under these circumstances, it would tragic to waste this opportunity to pursue the work that could potentially alleviate human suffering." Tragic indeed. This is not some abstract Washington debate far removed from the concerns of everyday life. This decision affects real people, including people we know and love whose lives could be dramatically improved by researchers now applying for federal grants to expand their studies. Scientists have until Thursday to file their proposals. Meanwhile, the Bush administration says it is reviewing the decision to permit federal funding and could make a ruling at any time. As he ponders his options, Bush is under enormous pressure from his staunch allies in the anti-abortion movement to halt federal support. In their view, research using stem cells, which develop only four days after fertilization, amounts to the dismemberment of "tiny embryonic boys and girls." But that overheated language bears no relationship to reality. We might agree that a 4-month-old fetus in a mother's womb is a tiny child, but a 4-day-old bundle of stem cells in a test tube is a very different matter. There is another way to look at the issue. Why is it ethically permissible to transplant a donated heart, even one from a murdered or abused child, but not do research on a donated embryo that is about to be discarded anyway? Nothing is certain in scientific experimentation, of course. But stem cells are so exciting because they are the body's building blocks. They start in the simplest form and develop into bone, blood, brains and every other part of the human anatomy. Researchers are hoping to duplicate this development process in the laboratory and use the cells for a wide variety of therapies, from new skin for burn victims to new nerve endings for Parkinson's sufferers. In an ideal world, perhaps, embryos would not be needed for this work, and stem cells could be harvested entirely from living adults. That avenue shows promise, but researchers agree that embryonic cells are far more useful, at least right now. In that ideal world, federal funding might not be needed, either. But it is needed, and President Bush has to know that. After all, his budget gives a large increase to the National Institutes of Health while trimming back many other agencies. In fact, the rigorous rules issued by NIH guarantee that any research conducted with Federal money would be far more regulated and scrutinized than privately backed efforts. As actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's, told a Congressional hearing last fall, "stem-cell research offers the chance of a medical miracle." However, he warned, "we've already lost two years" because of the campaign by stem-cell opponents. Another delay by the Bush Administration could be devastating. If the president is really "pro-life," he should listen to the scientific and medical experts, not the ideologues, and support federal funding for stem-cell research. © Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/03102001/commenta/commenta.htm ******