Debate Over Embryonic Stem Cells Mirrors IVF Controversy Of Past, Editorial Argues

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Fertility
Article Date: 08 Oct 2010 - 4:00 PDT


The awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine to British scientist Robert Edwards for his role pioneering in vitro fertilization "is a reminder that advances in human well-being can win nearly universal acceptance for procedures once considered highly controversial," a Boston Globe editorial states. Although the Catholic Church still opposes IVF, "other critics have been hushed in the face of millions of overjoyed parents," the editorial states.

"The same pattern is likely to play out if and when scientists overcome the intense resistance to use of embryonic stem cells and harness them to treat diabetes, spinal cord injuries, or Parkinson's disease," according to the editorial. IVF and embryonic stem cell research "are closely connected," the editorial states, noting that some stem cell researchers "use embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures." Opponents of stem cell research object to it because it destroys the embryos, though "few would dare today to take on in vitro fertilization, even though it, too, often results in embryos being destroyed," the Globe argues.

Edwards and his collaborator, Patrick Steptoe, relied on private funding after the British government rejected their request for a grant. Similarly, "[r]estricted and on-again, off-again access to NIH funding has forced embryonic stem cell scientists in this country to look outside of government," the editorial states. It concludes that Congress should "lift restrictions on federal funding for this research and complete the circle between the happy births brought about by Edwards' work and the restored health of millions of sufferers of devastating diseases" (Boston Globe, 10/6).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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