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Good News! Embryonic stem cells can be produced by a method that does not involve creating or destroying a living human embryo. Cells derived harmlessly from placental tissue and umbilical cord blood can be induced to exhibit the "pluripotency" of embryonic stem cells, that is, the potential of a cell todevelop into multiple types of mature cells. Additional progress will be required to perfect this technique of stem cell production, but many researchers agree that this can be accomplished in the relatively near future. One would expect that advocates of embryonic stem cell research would be delighted by these developments, yet they seem to be unhappy at the news. Why? The likely answer is ominous. Up to now, embryonic stem cell advocates have claimed that they are only interested in stem cells harvested from embryos at the five to six day stage. They have denied any intention of harvesting tissues or organs at more advanced stages of embryonic development or in the fetal stage. They know that most Americans including those who are prepared to countenance the destruction of very early embryos are not ready to approve the macabre practice of "fetus farming." However, it is likely that the long term goal is indeed to create an industry in harvesting late embryonic and fetal body parts for use in regenerative medicine and organ transplantation. This would explain why some advocates of embryonic stem cell research are not cheering the news about alternative sources of pluripotent stem cells. If their real goal is fetus farming, then the cells produced by alternative methods will not serve their purposes. Stem cells derived from 5 to 6 day embryos are currently of no therapeutic value and may never actually be used in the treatment of diseases. In fact, there is not a single embryonic stem cell therapy even in clinical trials! By contrast, adult and umbilical cord stem cells are already being used in the treatment of 65 diseases. Embryonic stem cells cannot be used in therapies because of their tendency to generate dangerous tumors. This means that the real therapeutic potential lies precisely in the practice of fetus farming, that is, the use of tissues, and organs harvested from human beings at, say, 16 or 18 weeks for use in the treatment of diseases. People now find fetus farming revolting. But the biotech industry is betting that the moral opposition will collapse when the realistic prospect of cures is placed before the public. So what should we do? One possibility is to ban the initiation of any pregnancy (whether in a human uterus or artificial womb) for purposes other than the live birth of a child. This would eliminate the production of thousands of human embryos that would be destroyed in fetal farming. The battle over embryonic stem cell research will determine whether we as a people move in the direction of restoring our sanctity of life ethic, or go in precisely the opposite direction. Either we will protect embryonic human life or we will begin creating human beings precisely as "organ factories." (Condensed from an article by Robert P. George, Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. ) |