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N.J. Wins Praise For Stem-Cell Efforts Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Kerry would eliminate U.S. restrictions By MICHAEL SYMONS Gannett State Bureau CAMBRIDGE, Mass. A parade of scientists and stem-cell research advocates, including former Attorney General Janet Reno, praised New Jersey officials Tuesday for supporting their efforts, including state plans to build a New Brunswick research institute. On the same day that Ron Reagan, the son of the former Republican president, addressed the Democratic National Convention on the topic, Gov. James E. McGreevey organized a forum on stem cells at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGreevey and lawmakers who accompanied him to MIT - Rep. Rush Holt, D- Hopewell, Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Roselle, and legislative leaders - were treated as heroes in a session designed to pressure President Bush to drop limits on research using embryonic cells. "Placing federal restrictions on stem cell research literally amounts to erecting roadblocks on the path to new solutions, new cures and new hope for these families," said McGreevey. "Bluntly, America, our families, our medical community, we cannot as a family afford the luxury of time and can ill-afford the debate." In 2001, Bush put limits on embryonic stem cell research, which is opposed by social conservatives who oppose the destruction of embryos that would be needed to obtain cells. No federal money can be used to fund research if it uses any embryonic cell lines beyond the 21 found to have existed when Bush announced his decision. "It makes no sense for us not to be doing that," said Reno, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995. Reno said opponents are wrong when they say fetuses would be used in the work; she said embryos that are going to thrown away eventually - hundreds of thousands of them, some claim - are being used. "Let us understand that: We are refusing to protect life because we are protecting something that's going to be destroyed anyway," Reno said Conservatives say the process of producing new embryonic stem cell lines, which continues overseas and in private research in the United States, is akin to cloning. Embryonic cells are engineered in an effort to reverse organ or spinal cord damage or stop degenerative diseases. More than 1 million Americans are already afflicted by the conditions - Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis - scientists hope to treat with stem cell approaches. Reno said the numbers will climb as baby boomers approach retirement age. Democrats see the issue as a winner for them. Presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., says he will reverse the federal restrictions if he's elected, and a handful of speakers have cited the issue in speeches on the FleetCenter floor in Boston. None did so more prominently than Reagan who spoke about the promise of medical research that could help people like his late father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease before dying last month at 93. "A few of these folks, needless to say, are just grinding a political ax and they should be ashamed of themselves. But many are well-meaning and sincere. Their belief is just that, an article of faith, and they are entitled to it," Reagan said. "But it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many," Reagan said. "And how can we affirm life if we abandon those whose lives are so desperately at risk?" Tricia Riccio, a stay-at-home mother of five from Warren Township, became a stem- cell research activist after her 18-year-old son, Carl, was paralyzed from the shoulders down after injuring his spinal cord in a 2003 wrestling match for Watchung Hills Regional High School. Last year, Riccio trekked to Trenton to lobby the Assembly to pass the state law allowing stem-cell research. Tuesday she joined McGreevey in Cambridge to press for federal changes. "As the mother of a child with a currently incurable condition, I would like to ask our country's political representatives at both the state and federal levels to put their trust in the scientific community," Riccio said, drawing applause. "There needs to be a balance in governing ethical guidelines and trust to bring our country where it needs to be, which is at the forefront of this cutting-edge medicine," said Riccio, who said "millions of people who suffer daily" share her hope. New Jersey put $9.5 million in its 2004-05 budget toward stem-cell research and is planning to help build a new institute, which will be jointly operated by Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Few other states have taken efforts to try to attract stem-cell researchers. In California, voters will be asked in November whether to approve $3 billion in bonds to fund efforts to attract the industry. A push in Massachusetts stalled last year in its legislature. Scientists at the Tuesday forum said state efforts are nice but fall short, even if companies fund the research themselves. "These partnerships are not enough," said Ira Black, founding director of New Jersey institute. "This cannot be done ultimately without the enthusiastic, committed support of the federal government. We can make this so far, but it's going to require a campaign that involves our entire society." "Government has the public health as their interest. They act in the interest of the public," said Peter Lansbury, a Parkinson's researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Cambridge. "No other players in this process do. Pharmaceutical companies act in their own specific interests. They fund research based on the prospects to boost their profit margin." Still, Leonard Zon said New Jersey's efforts were a hot topic at a recent meeting of the International Society of Stem Cell Reseachers, of which he is president. Though California's effort would dwarf New Jersey's, he said the Garden State plans are very significant. "There are many, many more cell lines and genetic models, and all those can be worked on with private philanthropy or state funds. Stem cell researchers in New Jersey will be privileged and be able to do the studies on more lines," Zon said. "It can really stimulate the field in that state, and I see that a number of other states may try to follow suit." SOURCE: Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m072804b.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn