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July 2, 1999 U.S. Coalition Opposes Stem Cell Research By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of religious experts, doctors, scientists and politicians spoke out against stem cell research Thursday, saying it was unethical and scientifically questionable. They called on Congress to maintain legislation outlawing the use of human embryos -- which other scientists say may be the best source of stem cells, the so-called nursery or master cells that give rise to other types of cells in the body. ``We believe that research being proposed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on human embryonic stem cells is immoral, illegal and unnecessary,'' Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback told a news conference. Research in the past year has found that stem cells might be used to treat Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes and other diseases and could provide tissue for transplants and tests. The cells come from embryos and tissues of the body and blood. The embryonic stem cells are ``pluripotent'' -- they can develop into any kind of cell in the body. Embryos used are from miscarriages or abortions, or are left over from attempts at making test-tube babies. At least one company, California-based Geron Corp (Nasdaq:GERN - news), proposes cloning human embryos as sources of stem cells. The National Bioethics Advisory Commission says this research holds so much promise that Congress should lift part of its ban on using federal money for research on embryonic stem cells. But the opposing coalition called the idea distasteful and disturbing. ``The work begins with the destruction of a living being,'' Dr. Frank Young, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and an ordained evangelical minister, told the news conference. ``Moreover, destruction of human embryonic life is unnecessary for medical progress, as alternative methods of obtaining human stem cells and of repairing and regenerating human tissue exist and continue to be developed,'' the group, sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity in Bannockburn, Illinois, said in a statement. Signatories included former surgeon-general Dr. C. Everett Koop, Samuel Casey, executive director of the Christian Legal Society, and Richard Doerflinger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. U.S. law bans the use of public funds to pay for research that damages or manipulates live human embryos, and prohibits the use of federal funds to create human embryos solely for research. Most recent work showing the potential of stem cells has been funded by private firms. A new lobbying group, the Patients' Coalition for Urgent Research (CURE), in May released a survey of 1,000 adults that showed 74 percent supported human stem cell research, even when the cells came from embryos. But groups like Brownback's say there are better sources for stem cells than embryos, and cite research showing the cells can be taken from blood, the brain and other sources. In May scientists at the University of Pittsburgh said bone marrow cells transplanted into rats migrated to their livers and helped repair them, and in March a group at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Pasadena, California, said it had found and grown stem cells from living nerve tissue. Other researchers, like John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, say scientists have to investigate all sources of stem cells. They note that embryonic stem cells automatically have the ability to become any type of cell in the body, while other types, such as blood stem cells, have restricted functions and must be manipulated to create muscle or nerve tissue. ``At this stage all avenues of scientific inquiry must remain open,'' Patient's CURE said in a statement Thursday. ''Only embryonic stem cells, with their capacity to become any kind of human tissue, have the potential to repair all vital organs.'' Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited.