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US
Policy on Stem Cells and Cloning
Bush
stem cell policy questioned.
Thursday, 24 April 2003, 00:56 AM GMT
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Pressure is building from scientists, patient advocates and members of
Congress to loosen the embryo-protecting restrictions imposed by
President Bush in 2001. Rick Weiss of Washington Post this week even
report that some people on Capitol Hill saying they want to take up the
issue again next month.
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"This is the conundrum we're
caught up in as federally funded researchers under the Bush policy.
We
want to do the basic research that works towards cures, but we cannot use
the newly derived, latest and best cell lines, which puts us at a
disadvantage."
— George Daley, a Harvard University stem cell biologist also
affiliated with the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in
Cambridge, Mass.
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This is understandable and
reasonable, in the light of the rapid progresses that have been reported
in a number of conditions, where stem cells from various sources have
been used to improve the condition of the patient. But how will the Bush
administration and the conservative right-wing react to these news? Will
they continue to stalemate these astounding new medical improvements?
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On
Monday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) sent a letter to Bush urging
the president to expand the current policy "so that doctors and
scientists can use these new safer stem cell lines and realise the
promise of stem cell research to cure diseases and disorders that afflict
millions of Americans."
In interviews last
week with WP, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Sen. Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa) said they would like to hold a Senate hearing on the topic next month.
Sen. Orrin G.
Hatch (R-Utah) said that he is "disappointed at the number
of stem cell lines that have been available" to federally funded scientists, and that he
will work with others on Capitol Hill "in re-examining the
administration's policy."
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Rick Weiss report that the
White House indicated last week it has no intention of changing its
position.
Nicholas Wade of the New York Times writes that Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni,
director of the National Institutes of Health, said "...the issue
raised by Mr. Specter would be relevant only if clinical trials were
imminent, but to his knowledge none were."
"Before any therapeutic use (of embryonic stem cells), a
large amount of basic research needs to be done on many aspects of stem
cell biology, he said further. "We need to walk before we run
here and not promise cures that are premature."
With this weak ‘laisée-fair’ attitude on this important subject, coming
from the NIH Director, one can not expect any quick and strong arguments to
be forwarded to the President and other lawmakers in the US.
The continuation of such restrictions will prevent the US from
participating fully in international progress or taking advantage of new
technological developments in this important medical field. They will also
make it much more difficult to stimulate interest in the biotech area,
leaving US biotech industry behind and at an economic disadvantage for
years to come.
References:
Stem
Cell Strides Test Bush Policy – Washington Post, 04/22/2003
by Rick Weiss
Specter
Asks Bush to Permit More Embryonic Cell Lines – NY Times, 04/23/2003
by Nicholas Wade
L.
Ed.
CellNEWS
03-04-23
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US Congress
again debates rival cloning bills.
Thursday, 06 February 2003, 07:38 AM GMT
The debate over banning human cloning is back in the United States Senate
with two bills competing to be passed.
The Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Bill
includes harsh punishments of fines up to $1m and up to 10 years in jail
for cloning or attempting to clone a human. It is supported by the
scientific community and 40 Nobel prize-winners.
The Human Cloning Prohibition Bill would ban all cloning.
Republican Senator Sam Brownback is sponsoring it together with a group
of anti-abortion groups.
Over the next few months the debate will again be strongly fought.
President Bush repeated in his State of the Union speech that he supports
a total ban on all cloning and experiments. That might make it difficult
for supporters of research on embryos to keep all of their Republican
backers united — both in the Senate and in the House where the bill will
face an even tougher battle.
L.
Ed.
CellNEWS
NEWS LINKS:
US Congress
debates rival cloning bills – BBC, 06 February 2003
Rival
Cloning Bills Introduced in Congress – Reuters, 06 February 2003
MORE
Health News – ... Stem Cells, Cloning,
Bioterror
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ARTICLE
How
Will Midterm Elections Affect US Policies on Stem Cells and Therapeutic
Cloning?
Wednesday, 13
November 2002, 11:36 PM GMT
Now when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House,
everyone from religious conservatives to anti-tax activists to business
leaders has begun urging the GOP to push ahead on their pet causes,
demanding results as a reward for their previous loyalty.
The key question for the empowered Republicans is whether they can
avoid the overreaching that so often seems to afflict a party that
controls all levels of the US government.
"We are going to continue to push our agenda, and the
leadership can either take it up or not," said Lori Waters,
executive director of the Eagle Forum, a conservative group advocating
a ban on late-term abortions and human cloning and an end to amnesty
for illegal aliens.
President Bush has already signalled he would back another
attempt to push through legislation that would outlaw all forms of
human cloning, as was passed by the House of Representatives last year
but stalled in the Senate.
Supporters of a ban believe the defeat in last week’s elections of
three senators who opposed it could tip the balance. Therefore, all
human cloning could be outlawed in the US as early as next year,
driving a key area of medical research offshore, Senate supporters of a
ban said on Tuesday.
Senator Sam
Brownback also have announced he plans to
introduce legislation early next year to this effect and believes it
stands a good chance of success following Republican gains in last
week’s mid-term elections.
"Obviously, the elections favour those who oppose human
cloning, and we plan action early next year," said a spokesman for
Mr Brownback speaking to Financial Times.
A total ban would include "therapeutic cloning", which might
be used to grow replacement tissue in the body, as well as
"reproductive cloning", which would be used to make babies.
It is easy to forget that the fundamental divide in American politics,
between red and blue states, is in moral believes. Bush can't neglect
his side of that split. A total cloning ban probably
would make sense to him as an early social-conservative initiative.
Since it already has passed the House and is a pro-life measure that is
popular within the GOP and the vocal religious lobby groups, he might
fall for the temptation to pursue this agenda. However, the result on
medical improvements in the future would be even more devastating than
the debate already has been on stem cells and therapeutic cloning.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Argentine-born
therapeutic cloning specialist Jose B. Cibelli, 39 years old, at
Advanced Cell Technology Inc. in Worcester, Mass., will end his career
there. He will move to a research program, at the Michigan State
University, that do not involve any kind of cloning work.
Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Mich., said Friday last week
that Dr. Cibelli had accepted an appointment as a professor of animal
biotechnology. Due to a Michigan law that outlaws human-cloning
research, Dr. Cibelli won't be able to continue his studies of human
embryos at the school.
"He's not going to be doing anything that goes against the
state legislature, the president or the National Institutes of
Health," said Lonnie King, dean of Michigan State's College of
Veterinary Medicine according to Wall Street Journal.
This is nothing but a tragic development for a great country that
otherwise could have been a leader in the futures medical improvement
and research. But others, like Singapore, India, UK, and Sweden
have not been late to exploit this new possibility, to try to find new
cures for many of our most devastating diseases.
L.
Ed.
CellNEWS
REFERENCES:
MORE FROM CELLNEWS:
Clash
of the sentiments or reason – CellNEWS - Editorial
California:
Stem Cell Pioneers in the US – CellNEWS - Article
MORE
Health News – ... Stem Cells, Cloning,
Bioterror
NEWS LINKS:
New view
from the Hill – New Scientist & BioMedCentral, 11 November 2002
Cloning
Pioneer Abandons Project – The Wall Street Journal, 11 November 2002
Lott's
Abortion Promise Worries Aides – Washington Post, 12 November 2002
US
senator prepares to push total cloning ban – Financial Times, UK, 12 November 2002
Other Links for This Article:
§
National Institutes of Health
http://www.nih.gov
§
National Science Foundation
http://www.nsf.gov
§
Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology
http://www.faseb.org
§
American Society for Cell Biology
http://www.ascb.org/
§
American Physiological Society
http://www.the-aps.org
§
House Committee on Science
http://www.house.gov/science/welcome.htm
§ American Institute of
Biological Sciences
http://www.aibs.org/
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