Bush opposes some cell research
The following news article could effect the possible strides that have
occurred recently in Diabetes research.
Bush opposes some cell research
Unclear whether he will act to stop certain stem-cell studies
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 — President-elect George W. Bush’s spokesman said on
Thursday he opposes federal funding for fetal tissue research that uses
discarded human embryos but did not say whether Bush would move to stop such
research.
IT WAS UNCLEAR whether Bush actively plans to reverse National Institutes of
Health (NIH) guidelines issued in August that would allow government
researchers to use such cells from discarded embryos provided by private
researchers.
The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial. Opponents say using any
cells from a human embryo is unethical and immoral, even if — as is the case
in the United States — the embryos are left over from attempts at making
test-tube babies for infertile couples and were destined to be thrown away.
Experts believe that research using stem cells could transform medicine. The
cells seem so powerful because, when taken from very early embryos, they
still can become any kind of cell in the body. The hope is to direct this
development so they can be used for tissue and even organ transplants.
“During the campaign president-elect Bush said that he would oppose using
taxpayer funds to support fetal tissue research from induced abortions,”
Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Thursday.
“He said that as president he would oppose federally funded research for
experimentation on embryonic stem cells that require live human embryos to
be discarded or destroyed,” he added.
Current law forbids the use of federal funds to actively derive these cells
from embryos. But the NIH last year released guidelines to allow federally
funded scientists to use the cells if provided by private researchers.
The guidelines are strict — the cells can only be taken from embryos that
were frozen and they may not be taken from any embryo created for any use
other than fertility treatment.