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Montage of Wing Point in Bainbridge Island and the Edmonds Ferry.

Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District

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House Passes Stem Cell Legislation

24 May 2005

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee today praised the House passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810), which loosens restrictions on stem cell research by allowing increased federal funding for embryonic stem cell science. The stem cell legislation passed the House by a vote of 238 to 194, and would lift President Bush's 2001 ban on federal funding for researching new embryonic stem cell lines.

Said Inslee, "Healing has a moral component, and embryonic stem cells have a future in curing illnesses. This bill allows stem cell donors to use their own judgment in donating embryos to potentially life-saving and life-changing research. Without this bill, these embryos would be discarded, so this represents their only hope for giving life and is our best hope for saving life. This bill gives hope to people with Adult and Juvenile Diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases and conditions. A strong bipartisan group supported this bill and we hope that the President will allow this research to go forward into the 21st century along with the rest of the world, like South Korea, and not relapse to 19th century science."

Said H. Stewart Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle-based Targeted Genetics, "It is extremely encouraging to see the potential for expanded federal funding for stem cell research through the passage of HR 810. Stem cell research has shown promising results and it won't happen overnight, but for patients who are sick or dying, this is a very important step toward developing regenerative therapies that could actually cure disease, not simply manage it."

Last Sunday, Inslee was joined by transplant surgeons, doctors and researchers of debilitating diseases in a briefing surrounding the American Transplant Congress' annual meeting in Seattle. Doctors contend that stem cell research could help patients who are in need of or receiving an organ transplant, particularly in cases where the recipient's immune system rejects a new organ.

"This bill will offer hope to many people who are suffering from diseases that are currently incurable," said Dr. Chuck Murry, Director of University of Washington's Center for Cardiovascular Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Murry continued, "This legislation will take the handcuffs off and let scientists do the best research."

"Passage of H.R. 810 represents an important advance for stem cell researchers in the State of Washington who, by our dependency on federal funding, are handcuffed by restrictions that impede innovation," said Dr. C. Anthony Blau, a leading researcher at the University of Washington in stem cell biology, gene therapy, and hematology.

Said Dr. Connie Davis, Medical Director of University of Washington's Kidney and Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Program, "From an ethical perspective, stem cell research using frozen embryos that are slated for destruction is equivalent to using organs for transplantation from deceased donors. We think of it as being part of transplanting hope."

H.R. 810 would not change the government prohibition on cloning, nor would it allow federal funds to be applied to creating embryos just for the purpose of research. In addition to H.R. 810, the House passed H.R. 2520, which would fund stem cells derived from umbilical cords discarded after birth. The two bills deal with different types of stem cells, since scientists see the most scientific potential in embryonic stem cells.