Debate on the implications of the recent announcement that human embryonic stem cells have been isolated has moved from a scientific forum to a governmental one.
In November, University of Wisconsin investigators reported in Science (1998;282:1145-1147) that they had cultured the cells from blastocysts formed during attempts at in vitro fertilization, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine scientists said in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (1998;95:13726-13731) that they isolated stem cells from embryos that were aborted up to nine weeks following fertilization. In a third announcement, Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Massachusetts, claimed it had produced human embryonic stem cells by fusing human cells and a cow egg. (See Dec. 1st TNN report.)
While such research can only be conducted privately in the United States, scientists are now trying to convince the government to lift its ban on research involving human embryos so that far more research can be conducted. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on such matters on December 2, and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission is expected to begin discussing the issues next month.
Scientists hope that the embryonic stem cells can one day be used to generate organs for transplantation as well as provide new treatments for disorders such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and strokes.
However, at the heart of objections to such technology is the belief that people do not have the right to destroy a human embryo. Others, though, believe that the potential benefit from research using embryonic stem cells is the more important issue. A member of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association told the Los Angeles Times that the organization is "definitely going to do everything we possibly can ... to push Congress to reverse itself."
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