President Bush may have just vetoed legislation easing restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, but proponents of expanding the science are signaling the beginning of a public awareness campaign. 

U.S. Rep. Sander Levin held a forum on the topic Tuesday at Gilda's Club, an organization that provides services to cancer patients and their loved ones, to discuss the next steps for the movement. In attendance were several multiple sclerosis patients, a man with a kidney disease and a woman who said her leukemia was sent into remission after a stem cell transplant.

After passing the House and Senate with bipartisan support, Bush last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded public funding for embryonic stem cell funding. Public polling data refl ect widespread support for the science, even among many who oppose abortion.

"I think what's happened is the veto has incited interest in the issue," said Levin, D-Royal Oak.

Derived from embryos, embryonic stem cells hold enormous potential, scientists say, for finding cures for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes. Unlike adult stem cells, which are fully developed, embryonic stem cells have the potential to differentiate themselves into any cell in the body. 

In announcing his veto, Bush surrounded himself with children born from donated embryos and equated embryonic stem cell research with the taking of a human life. 

"It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect," he said. 

Bush in 2001 announced that more than 80 lines of embryonic stem cells were available for publicly funded research. But Sue O'Shea, a University of Michigan professor and director of the school's Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, said the number has since been whittled down to 22 usable lines. And even those lines lack genetic diversity and do not display a full range of diseases. 

"It's not so much that they're unhealthy as they represent a very small percentage of the population," she said. "...There are a variety of problems with those lines." 

O?Shea said scientists only want access to embryos produced at in-vitro fertilization clinics that otherwise are mostly discarded.

In Michigan, Democratic sponsored bills that would ease restrictions on the science are pending in both the House and Senate but enjoy little bipartisan support. State Rep. Andy Meisner of Ferndale said he was partly encouraged by a recent committee hearing on his bill but expressed frustration at a lack of commitment to pushing the issue.

Danny Heumann, who heads a nonprofi t organization devoted to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries, said supporters will likely mount a petition drive to place the issue before voters unless Democrats can win control of the Legislature in November. 

Tom Gagne, president of the Ferndale Area Republicans, said he planned to write about the forum for his club Web log. He said he supports embryonic stem cell research, provided it is done ethically and with partisan rhetoric removed. 

"Our group is not politically monotone," he said of the issue. 

NOTE: This article also ran in the Daily Tribune in Royal Oak.
 

(####)

Home Page  |  In the News