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Advocates react to discovery of amniotic stem cells 1/8/2007 8:26 PM By: Ryan Peterson The announcement made by scientists that stem cells have been discovered in amniotic fluid has people on both sides of the embryonic stem cell debate excited. "It's very exciting. It's a way of getting around some controversial points." Seven years ago Mike DiScipio of Colonie dove into his pool, striking his head on the bottom. DiScipio broke two vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the neck down. Hearing of the latest development in stem cell research has only added to his endless optimism. DiScipio said, "I'm for any kind of research that is for the advancement of medical research that can help get me and many other people up and out of their wheelchair. Stem cell research advocates like DiScipio hope this latest announcement will make it easier to sidestep the controversy surrounding the destruction of embryos for research. Even the New York State Right to Life Committee says the amniotic discovery shows promise. Director Christina Fadden Fitch said, "We think it's wonderful and it should, hopefully, continue to draw scientists and science and universities toward the therapies and the fields that are working, that are not controversial from the taking of human life." While it may ease the concerns of most pro-life supporters, bio-ethics experts say a whole new moral debate is just waiting to be taken up. UAlbany Philosophy Professor Bonnie Steinbock said, "The process of amniocentesis, whereby you get the amniotic fluid, is used to detect incurable genetic diseases or chromosomal disorders in fetuses. When that's done and the test is positive, over 90 percent of the time it ends up in an abortion. There's a whole group of folks who find this kind of abortion morally problematic." Researchers have noted that they don't know yet how effective the amniotic stem cells will be and that preliminary tests in patients are still years away. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn