Democrats tout stem-cell research

By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter


KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Former Vice President Al Gore, right, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire listen to Dennis Wright, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, during a forum on stem-cell research yesterday in Seattle.

A forum yesterday on the lack of federal funding for local stem-cell-research centers was peppered with political commentary by former Vice President Al Gore and campaign promises by gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire and congressional candidate Dave Ross.
Gore kicked off the hourlong forum at the Westin Hotel in Seattle with a story about the moral questioning prompted by the first test-tube babies. He said fears didn't subside until after "the individuals who benefited from the life-enhancing features of the new technologies pushed forward."

Gore likened the push for in vitro fertilization to the present battle to have stem-cell research accepted by the government.

Researchers from the University of Washington spoke to the nearly 60 people who attended the town-hall meeting. They explained to the audience how stem cells are created and the moral objections to their use, and they said things have gotten worse for scientists since President Bush took office.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002058406_stemcell09m.html

...realized from Bush's defensive statements in last night's debate that I did not fully understand the whole discussion and controversy surrounding embrionic stem cells:

<snip>
What are embryonic stem cells?
Embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are unlike any specific adult cell. However, they have the ability to form any adult cell. Because undifferentiated embryonic stem cells can proliferate indefinitely in culture, they could potentially provide an unlimited source of specific, clinically important adult cells such as bone, muscle, liver or blood cells.

Where do embryonic stem cells come from?
Human embryonic stem cells are derived from fertilized embryos less than a week old. Using 14 blastocysts obtained from donated, surplus embryos produced by in vitro fertilization, a group of UW-Madison developmental biologists led by James Thomson established five independent stem cell lines in November 1998. This was the first time human embryonic stem cells had been successfully isolated and cultured.

The cell lines were capable of prolonged, undifferentiated proliferation in culture and yet maintained the ability to develop into a variety of specific cell types, including neural, gut, muscle, bone and cartilage cells.

The embryos used in the work at UW-Madison were originally produced to treat infertility and were donated specially for this project with the informed consent of donor couples who no longer wanted the embryos for implantation.

In virtually every in vitro fertilization clinic in the world, surplus embryos are discarded if they are not donated to help other infertile couples or for research. The research protocols were reviewed and approved by a UW-Madison Institutional Review Board, a panel of scientists and medical ethicists who oversee such work.

Why are embryonic stem cells important?
Embryonic stem cells are of great interest to medicine and science because of their ability to develop into virtually any other cell made by the human body. In theory, if stem cells can be grown and their development directed in culture, it would be possible to grow cells of medical importance such as bone marrow, neural tissue or muscle.
<more>

<link> http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/stemcells/facts.html#2

<total info web site> http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/stemcells/

George Bush and the right to lifers are on very thin and unethical grounds because they are withholding crucial research that could save thousands of lives and inprove or cure millions with now hopeless diseases. Kerry needs to be our next president

besides cells until implanted in a womb.

...conception doesn't it. The in-vitro fertilized egg can't be considered conception until it is embedded in the womb of a woman. This is why ethically, these fertilized embryos can be created in large numbers, frozen until the couple wishes to attempt having a baby and when the couple have what they consider enough children, the embryos are then discarded. This has been going on for decades, but Bush and the neo-con/fundies have picked this election to make this a political issue. Meantime, thousands of sick and suffering continue to go on without much hope.