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Ethics Row Erupts as MEPs Back Stem-Cell Research 19 November 2003 The European Parliament, in an emotionally charged debate, called Wednesday for EU money to be allowed to fund medical research on stem cells derived from human embryos. A total of 300 MEPs backed European Commission proposals to allow EU funding for stem-cell research that uses surplus human embryos, with 210 voting against and 19 abstaining. The resolution would free up money from the EU's four-billion-eurobillion-dollar) research budget for scientists to work on stem cells in the hope of treating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. But the parliament's vote was purely consultative and the final decision will rest with the 15 member states, which are deeply split on the issue. Six EU countries -- Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Spain -- ban stem-cell research that uses human embryos. Another four -- Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal -- have no explicit rules in the area. Britain has the most liberal regulations on stem-cell research, and has attracted many scientists from the United States, where the rules are much tighter. Stem cell development is a revolutionary scientific field that uses cells, some culled from fertilised embryos, to repair and regenerate human tissue that is diseased or damaged. Stem cells are immature cells that can still transform, or differentiate, into different types of cells, such as heart muscle and blood vessels. Scientists say that one day they could be used to grow replacement body parts in a laboratory. Some fear that Europe could lose out to countries on the cutting edge of the research, such as Singapore. But the issue is an ethical quagmire. The European Parliament vote was carried despite fierce resistance from many MEPs, notably from countries with a strong Catholic tradition such as Austria and Ireland. "It's a very black day for ethics in Europe," said Hiltrud Breyer, a Greens MEP from Germany. But Gerard Caudron, a French independent socialist, said: "This is a victory for science over obscurantism." At present there are only nine requests outstanding from scientists to spend EU funds on the controversial research, out of some 15,000 requests lodged with the research arm of the European Commission. The EU assembly rejected a series of amendments that would have imposed even stricter conditions on the use of stem- cell research. Peter Liese, the German MEP charged with overseeing the resolution's passage through parliament, said he was "very disappointed" by the result. He said the rejection of the amendments would make it impossible for countries like Austria, Italy, Germany and Portugal to back EU funding for stem-cell research. "The European Parliament wasted its chance to give research a clear ethical framework," Liese said. The most potent and versatile kind of stem cell comes from embryos at their earliest stages of development, but this raises fierce ethical controversies as shown in the European Parliament debate. SOURCE: EU Business, UK http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/031119173852.cxaua6xg * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn