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CANADA: Donating Frozen Embryos To Science Poses Moral Dilemma Last Updated Sat, 27 Mar 2004 9:54:37 EDMONTON - Canada's reproductive technologies bill received royal assent Friday. It bans cloning of human embryos for research, posing a moral dilemma for some people. Lori Hickling and Burke Lawrence of Toronto conceived their daughters, five-year-old Claire and three-year-old Angie, through in-vitro fertilization. INDEPTH: Reproductive technologies http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/genetics_reproduction/rgtech.html Two other embryos were also created and remain frozen in storage. "We've got these two wonderful girls and we're full up," said Lawrence. "We can't see ourselves having another kid. But we have these two kids, frozen." Frozen embryos are the only source of stem cells for a new Canadian research project in Toronto. Just approved, it's the first federally funded embryonic stem cell project. "What we are doing at the moment here is establishing the conditions for deriving new [embryonic stem cell] lines," said stem cell researcher Kristina Vintersten of Mount Sinai Hospital. The research holds promise for currently incurable conditions like Parkinson's and diabetes. Frozen embryos are the only source for embryonic stem cell research. Canada's new reproductive technologies law bans the creation of embryos strictly for research, setting up a moral divide for some parents with frozen embryos and some research scientists. There are more than 15,000 unused embryos in Canada, but only two per cent are available for stem cell research. Some scientists say if parents donate, they'll be doing medicine a service. "These are embryos that are stored in the freezer, and if they're not being used for research, most of them are either going to be discarded or they're going to remain in the freezer," said Dr. Ron Worton of the Stem Cell Network in Ottawa. CBC ARCHIVES: Fighting Female Infertility http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-610/science_technology/infertility/ Hickling said she sees the embryos as two individuals that she is responsible for. Donating to science would destroy the embryos. The parents said donating them to another couple would be like putting their own child up for adoption. For now, their embryos, like many others, will remain frozen. Written by CBC News Online staff SOURCE: CBC News, Canada http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/03/26/sci-tech/embryos040326 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn