Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Editorial: All cells considered
Virginia lawmakers can stop holding back scientists from finding cures to devastating diseases by encouraging stem cell research.
From the RoundTable blog
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Wake Forest University researchers discovered that developing fetuses shed cells into amniotic fluid that may be as useful in developing cures for devastating diseases as embryonic stem cells.
They claim the fetal cells in the amniotic fluid are as versatile as embryonic ones in their ability to morph into the type of tissue desired and are easier to control.
If, indeed, the amniotic cells live up to their promise, it is tempting to wish that this would end the political debate over the ethics and morality of using embryos for research even if they were already slated for destruction.
But we are not quite there yet. Other promising developments in stem cell research -- using cells extracted from umbilical cord blood and placentas or plucking a single cell from an embryo without destroying it -- also offer some hope.
However, there is still much research to be conducted to rule out any possibilities, as all types may be needed.
President Bush opposes the destruction of human embryos and has severely hampered research by limiting funding. Last year, he exercised his first and only veto on legislation that would have allowed couples to donate to science embryos slated for destruction.
A new Democratic Congress is expected to renew efforts to direct federal funds into this research, but it will face a tough battle.
Some states aren't waiting for Washington. They understand the necessity and promise of this research and allocate funds. But not Virginia. Here, scientists work under the threat that they and their institutions will suffer financially. Republicans last year tried through the budget process to ban the work by threatening to cut off all state funds to institutions conducting embryonic stem cell research.
To be clear, Virginia does not directly fund this type of research. But it does fund other programs at institutions, such as the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University, where scientists study stem cells.
To head off another punitive attack, Democratic lawmakers are introducing a series of bills. It is imperative that they succeed. The bills strive first to alleviate fears that this type of research will lead to cloning humans or promoting a market in which embryos are created to be sold. Both would be outlawed.
Most important, one bill authorizes embryonic stem cell research at state universities. It would free scientists and universities from worrying about a financial attack, and it could, given a more enlightened future General Assembly, lay the framework for future funding.
