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Another voice / Stem cells Funding of research has already been slowed too much By Linda Herman Updated: 04/27/07 7:07 AM Douglas Turner's April 16 column urges legislators to "slow down on stem cell bills." As a person with Parkinson's disease, I disagree. Patients facing life-threatening illnesses cannot afford more slowdowns. Progress already has been impeded by six years of President Bush's limits on funding of embryonic stem cell research. Turner's article included some misleading and inaccurate statements. The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.5), passed by the Senate, would lift these limits. It would not fund the creation or destruction of human embryos, and it is not about abortion. The bill contains strict ethical guidelines specifying that stem cells must be derived from embryos that have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, were created for fertility treatment and were in excess of the need of the individuals seeking treatment. About 400,000 leftover embryos are in clinic freezers. They are regularly discarded as medical waste. Would it not be more ethical to use them to help find cures for debilitating and deadly diseases? Lifting the limits on NIH funding is supported by more than 600 disease advocacy, medical and research associations, and thousands of scientists and doctors including the director of the National Institutes of Health. Recently testifying before a Senate committee, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, who was appointed by the president, stated: "From my standpoint, it is clear today that American science will be better served, and the nation will be better served, if we let our scientists have access to more stem cell lines. I think it is important for us not to fight with one hand tied behind our back . . . " The NIH is the world's largest funder of biomedical research. No private funder comes close. No field of research can advance without access to this kind of government support. Yet in 2005, the NIH funded more than $607 million for stem cell research overall, but only $39 million for embryonic research. To help overcome this inequality and bolster promising science, states such as California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York are providing funding. Claims have been made of adult stem cells "curing some 70 diseases," including Parkinson's. If this were true, I would not be writing this article. Most successful adult stem cell treatments have involved blood diseases thus far. Other diseases will respond best to embryonic stem cell treatments. More research is needed to know for sure. Turner worries about being "shoved into a brave new world that nobody really wants." My hope for the future is for a world in which diseases like Parkinson's will be considered history. But Bush threatens to veto S.5, again dashing the hopes of millions of Americans. Cures eventually will be discovered, but by continuing to limit NIH funding, it will take so much longer. Linda Herman is New York State Grassroots coordinator and Parkinson's Action Network patient representative, New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research. She lives in Snyder. Here's the original op/ed from the Buffalo News. When you read it you'll understand why Linda was so "inspired" to reply. The stem cell blog is still going strong http://buffalonews.typepad.com/opinion/2007/04/stem_cell_resea.html Slow down, Dems, on stem cell bills Douglas Turner Buffalo News Updated: 04/16/07 6:43 AM WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate and the New York Legislature may have edged closer in recent days in allowing taxpayer funds to clone human embryos in their well meant enthusiasm for the promises of stem cell research. Neither body has yet done this, mind you. New York's budget bill pretty much leaves it up to the governor how $600 million will be spent on human embryonic stem cell research. And here, the Senate overwhelmingly approved Housepassed legislation to allow an unspecified amount of federal money to be spent on research using "new" lines of human embryos. It's an issue meandering across politically invisible lines. So politicians, when compelled to comment, push things close to the edge of accuracy. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said the vote would lift President Bush's "ban" against human embryonic stem cell research. There is no such ban. President Bush, who cannot stop private research, said he will veto legislation requiring all Americans to pay for it. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, DN. Y., said a vote against the bill is "a vote against science." Well, not exactly. Schumer's alma mater, Harvard University, is a leader in embryonic stem cell research using private research grants. The federal government already spends literally billions on stem cells, including studies on lines of human embryo cells already in use. The Senate bill, nearly identical to one passed in January by House Democrats, would let Uncle Sam pay for studies on new lines of human embryos now kept in deep freeze. These are cells intended for in vitro fertilization to create an individual human being: A boy. A girl. The research requires the destruction of these human embryos. This unpleasant fact has not stopped some institutes in the United States and worldwide from offering thousands of dollars to women for their unfertilized eggs. It's as legal as donating blood, for women to sell these products of their bodies for research. Critics of the bill, S. 5, primarily from the pro-life community, note that similar programs in New York and California, along with the unleashing of federal money, will create a demand for human embryos that existing lines and back-door sales can't possibly fill. Realizing this, research institutes are already working on ways to clone human embryos for medical studies and for profit. Industry can patent and own research done on human embryos. It cannot necessarily profit from research from adult stem cells, particularly those taken from individual patients' tissue. So far, nearly a decade of research on human embryos has produced mainly tumors in animals in which they have been implanted. By contrast, adult stems have produced many cures. Last week, the American Medical Association reported success in Brazil in treating diabetes with adult stem cells. For ideological Democrats, issues involving the destruction of human embryos were settled two decades ago when the party's platform embraced the legalization of abortion. Yet, should it be just Republicans and religious people who worry about creating an environment where the government itself will wind up paying for human cloning? Stripped down, S. 5 is a taxpayer handout to the drug industry that already makes enough money to spend $4.5 billion a year on U.S. consumer advertising. Democrats who run Congress should slow down and draw some lines before they shove us into a brave new world that nobody really wants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn