The following is from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 13, 2001,
written by a Catholic, Republican father whose son is diabetic.
Linda herman
SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg.A-23 FIRST PERSON
HEADLINE: STEM-CELL SANITY;
A FATHER PLEADS FOR BUSH TO AUTHORIZE RESEARCH
" Father's Day is a bittersweet time for dads of children who have an
incurable disease. Before my college-age son Christopher sits down to
breakfast on Sunday, he will give himself a shot of insulin. Later that
day,
he'll test his blood sugar level with four or five finger sticks, and
probably
have to take at least three more insulin shots before he goes to bed.
It's a routine Christopher has had to follow since he was 6 years old
in
order to stay alive. It's a routine he'll keep up for the rest of his
life
unless we find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Without one, Christopher and
other
people with diabetes will be at risk for kidney failure, blindness,
circulatory
failure, the early loss of limbs and shorter life expectancy.
Every father of a child with diabetes knows these sobering
statistics, just
as every father of a child with other terrifying conditions like cancer,
Parkinson's, ALS, heart disease and spinal cord injuries knows the
challenges
his child faces. That's why so many parents were excited when we learned
about
breakthrough medical research on human stem cells.
Most scientists say the breakthroughs could speed the search for a
cure for
Christopher and dramatically improve life for more than 100 million
Americans
suffering from a wide range of serious diseases and disabilities. But as
I look
forward to celebrating Father's Day, my family's new hope is tempered by
concern.
In the next few weeks, President Bush will decide whether to continue
federal funding for stem-cell research. I'm worried because a great deal
of
confusion and controversy has grown up around stem cells. As a father,
and a
Republican, I hope President Bush will look at the facts and move forward
with
federal support for research that can cure my son.
Stem cells are specialized cells that can come from three sources:
adults,
fetal tissue or surplus fertilized eggs, created by couples at fertility
clinics.
In 1998, scientists learned that stem cells derived from leftover
fertilized
eggs can grow into any tissue or organ in the body. By replacing
defective or
missing cells, stem cells could lead to dramatic new treatments or even
cures
for life-threatening medical conditions. That will only happen, however,
if the
PAGE 2
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 13, 2001 Wednesday
federal government continues to fund stem-cell research.
Controversy has arisen because some activists believe using
fertilized eggs
for research violates right-to-life principles. To me as a Catholic
father,
however, this kind of stem-cell research seems more analogous to organ
and
tissue donation. In looking into stem cells, I learned that, under
National
Institutes of Health guidelines, the cells that could most help my son
would
come only from frozen fertilized eggs donated by couples after they have
completed an infertility treatment called "in vitro fertilization."
IVF can produce many fertilized eggs, some of which are implanted
into the
woman having difficulty becoming pregnant. The rest are stored, and there
are
now about 100,000 frozen fertilized eggs in IVF clinics.
Almost all will be destroyed unless they are donated to research to
help my
son and millions of others. Some in the right-to-life community are
worried that
future research would, nevertheless, lead to abuses. They should remember
that,
if federal funding is banned, federal oversight of stem cells, including
strict
NIH regulations, will be gone, too. Prominent pro-life Republicans such
as
former Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., support
public
funding for stem-cell research using excess fertilized eggs from
fertility
clinics. Earlier this year, 80 Nobel laureates wrote to President Bush in
support of this vital research. They are joined by overwhelming support
from the
American public.
Moreover, a wide spectrum of religious believers share my view that
stem
cell research isn't a pro-life/pro-choice issue. A recent public opinion
poll
for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research shows that 70
percent
of Americans support NIH funding of stem-cell research, including 72
percent of
Catholics, 57 percent of those who identify themselves as pro-life and 63
percent of fundamentalist Christians.
As my family celebrates this Father's Day, we hope that, when the
next one
rolls around, we will be well on the road to new treatments for diabetes
and
other serious diseases, thanks to stem-cell research. I hope President
Bush will
realize that only federal support for stem-cell research can make that
happen."
NOTES:
Robert D. German is a Pittsburgh lawyer and a member of the International
Board
of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
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