Subcommittee hears testimony on stem cell research

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Scientists, actors and activists are converging Thursday on Capitol Hill to talk about one of the most controversial subjects in modern medicine: stem cell research.

They are testifying before the Senate subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, which is trying to determine what kinds of patients might benefit from the research.

Celebrities like Mary Tyler Moore, who campaigns for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and Michael J. Fox, who recently quit acting to focus on Parkinson's disease research, are among the witnesses making an appearance. They say stem cell research is an important advance toward curing many diseases.

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Stem cells are "blank" cells that can potentially form any kind of tissue in the body. Doctors say harnessing the power of those cells could one day lead to treatments -- or even cures -- for a number of diseases.

For instance, they might be used to regenerate nerve cells to repair damaged spinal cords, helping paralyzed people walk again. Or they might be used to slow or reverse the damage done by Parkinson's disease. Some doctors even hold out the hope that stem cell research could be used to create an unlimited supply of organs for transplant.

Although the prospects are tantalizing, the way scientists obtain stem cells is highly controversial. The cells are taken from embryos -- either from aborted fetuses or from embryos created through in vitro fertilization that are not going to be used.

Last month, the National Institutes of Health revised its guidelines on stem cell research to allow federally funded scientists to conduct research on human embryos under certain conditions.

But abortion opponents say such research is tantamount to the government taking one life for another.

"As deeply concerned as we are about the treatment and cure of disease, we don't believe the average American wants to see tiny embryonic boys and girls, little children, used as experimental material," said Judie Brown, a spokeswoman for the American Life League.

Leading researchers say denying federally funded labs the ability to conduct research on embryonic stem cells has held back research that could have led to cures for killers like diabetes and heart disease.

"We could have made tremendous progress in getting these cells toward clinical application if federal funding had been available," said Dr. John Gearhart, a stem cell researcher.

Gearhart and others also say federally funded labs have more oversight that would guarantee adherence to ethical guidelines.

But critics say new developments with adult stem cells should be pursued as a more ethical alternative to using embryonic stem cells.

"The problem we have with this particular type of research," said Brown, "is that you have to kill a person to get these stem cells. That's unethical."

Another source of stem cells being studied, therapeutic cloning, is no less controversial. It involves creating an embryonic clone of the patient, and then harvesting stem cells from the clone.

The U.S. government does not allow this or any other type of human cloning, but Britain recently relaxed its guidelines to allow therapeutic cloning.

CNN Medical Correspondent Eileen O'Connor contributed to this report.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Bioethics Advisory Commission
University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation

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