More funding for stem cells needed now

By Todd Luck
Opinion Editor

It begins with occasional shaking in an extremity, maybe a hand or a foot. The shaking spreads overtime, becoming more frequent and more violent. Eventually tremors rock the entire body, making it difficult to dress or even stand up. This is Parkinson's disease, a condition that afflicts millions. Current medication can ease the symptoms but only some of the time and only with severe side effects.

Dr. Ronald McKay is researching a new treatment for Parkinson's. The disease kills brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. McKay can turn embryonic stem cells into dopamine-producing cells. Lab rats injected with these cells get dramatically better and their brains actually begin to heal themselves. Despite its miraculous nature, it's hard to get research like this funded because of restrictions on federal money for stem cell research.

"There will be an absolutely overwhelming moral case for developing new policies as the technology demands different types of cells, different types of manipulation of the cell," McKay said.

The moral case is already here. Stem cells have made paralyzed lab rats walk again, giving hope to paraplegics like the late Christopher Reeve. They have been used to create insulin-producing cells in diabetic patients. They can also be used in the treatment of strokes, burn victims, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and arthritis.

Embryonic stem cells are unique. Unlike adult stem cells, which are rare, embryonic stem cells can be grown in culture, producing the mass amounts of cells therapy would require. This abundance of cells is also good because there aren't enough organ donors to meet the need for certain types of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells also can become any cell in the body, unlike adult stem cells, whose tissue of origin determines the type of cells they will become.

Despite the endless possibilities the research offers, it's met with objections by pro-life and religious groups who oppose any destruction of embryos. This has caused Congress to ban federal funding for this research every year since 1996. This changed when President George Bush authorized federal funding for embryonic stem cell research in August 2001 but would only fund research for already existing stem cells lines. Hundreds of cell lines have been discovered since then, but no federal money can be used on them.

Despite popular myth, embryonic stem cells don't come from abortions. They come from in-vitro fertilization clinics. The in-vitro fertilization process creates surplus embryos that are usually discarded. Scientists take the stem cells from these embryos.

Even if one believes the inevitable destruction of these embryos is wrong, why should the cells that could save so many not be harvested? What possible moral reason is there to let such valuable material die with the embryo? When people die by an act of immorality, like murder, no one protests if doctors use their organs to help the living. Why should it be any different here?

The embryonic stem cell research still moves forward with funding from various states and in privately funded university labs. But without federal funding the research will move slower. Right now there is legislation in Congress to lift the ban on federal funding.

It's about time. Politicians have no business restricting research that can help millions. Doctors take a Hippocratic oath to ease the pain of all humans. We need to hold politicians to the same standard.