LIFE DIGEST: California reverses, OKs non-embryonic research
- Nov 10, 2009 - comment
California’s stem-cell program recently awarded $230 million primarily to non-embryonic research, in the process implicitly admitting embryonic experiments are much further from producing therapies in human beings.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) made grants to only four efforts that involve embryonic stem cells, while making 10 others to non-embryonic projects, according to The New York Times. CIRM, the $3 billion, 10-year effort approved by voters in 2004, began in response to President Bush’s policy that barred federal funds for stem-cell research that results in the destruction of human embryos. Extracting stem cells from an embryo destroys the days-old human being.
Also in this edition: Down diagnoses in unborn babies up, births down, Ex-Baptist minister admits killing babies in abortion and Chinese bust child-trafficking ring.
One project approved for funding Oct. 28 involves extracting stem cells from a person’s heart and inserting them back into his heart to repair heart-attack damage, The Times reported. The study leader, Eduardo Marban of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said embryonic stem cells may not help such patients. “The last thing we want to do is grow rogue heart cells,” he said, according to The Times. Embryonic stem-cell research has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals.
Bioethics specialist Wesley Smith said of Marban’s comment, “Funny when [embryonic stem cell research] opponents used to make that very claim, they were hooted down by ‘the scientists’ and their camp followers in the media.”
Stem cells provide hope for producing cures for a variety of diseases, because of their ability to transform into other cells and tissues. The biotech industry has long promoted research with embryonic stem cells because of their pluripotency, which means they can transform into any cell or tissue. ESCR has not proven nearly as effective as experiments with other types of stem cells, however.
Trials using adult stem cells have produced therapies for at least 73 ailments in human beings, despite the fact such cells are not considered pluripotent, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Among the afflictions treated by adult stem cells are cancer, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart damage, Parkinson’s, sickle cell anemia and spinal cord injuries, according to Do No Harm.
Scientists have discovered induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in the last two years, producing great promise for cures without the ethical problems of ESCR. In iPS research, scientists convert adult cells into cells that have nearly the identical properties of embryonic ones.
Neither procuring stem cells from non-embryonic sources nor transforming adult stem cells into embryonic-like ones harms the donor.
Down diagnoses in unborn babies up, births down
The number of unborn babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome in Great Britain has increased greatly in the last two decades, but the number of babies born with the condition has declined.
A study published in the British Medical Journal showed a 71 percent increase in the number of unborn children detected with Down Syndrome between 1989-90 and 2007-08 in England and Wales. That reflected a rise from 1,075 cases to 1,843.
The same survey found, however, the number of live births of babies with Down Syndrome decreased by one percent, according to the Daily Mail. The wide disparity resulted from improved testing for the condition and the vast number of parents who chose to abort in such situations. The percentage of couples who choose abortion when their unborn child is diagnosed with Down Syndrome has consistently been 92 percent, the British newspaper reported.
Rosa Monckton, 56, has a 14-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome. Domenica has caused her to understand what is important in life, said Monckton, who has worked to raise awareness of the condition.
Aborting babies with Down Syndrome is “a totally wicked thing to do,” Monckton said, according to the Daily Mail. “I look at my daughter and see the wonderful things she has given our family and I cannot imagine life without her.
“The medical community puts pressure on women to abort their babies at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives and they can spend the rest of their life regretting that decision.
“Doctors should not play God . . . ,” she said.
Ex-Baptist minister admits killing babies in abortion
A Baptist minister turned abortionist is straight forward when it comes to his practice.
“Am I killing?” Curtis Boyd said in an interview with a Dallas television station. “Yes, I am. I know that.”
Boyd, who opened the first abortion clinic in Texas in 1973, unveiled his latest clinic – this one a center that performs abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancy – the last week of October, according to WFAA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Dallas.
He was ordained as a Baptist minister but is now a Unitarian, Boyd said. WFAA did not report if Boyd said what Baptist church ordained him.
Boyd said, however, he often prays regarding the abortions he performs.
“I’ll ask that the spirit of this pregnancy be returned to God with love and understanding,” he told WFAA.
Chinese bust child-trafficking ring
Chinese police have broken an alleged child-trafficking ring that appears to benefit from the Communist regime’s coercive population-control policy.
Authorities arrested 42 members of the ring that had reportedly earned more than $58,000 by selling 33 girls and 19 boys over two years’ time, according to a LifeNews.com, which based its report on an article from the Xinhua News Agency.
Beijing instituted a one-child policy in the late 1970s in an effort to slow the birth rate of the world’s most populous country. The policy limits couples to one child, although exceptions are made in rural areas and in some circumstances.
Penalties for violations of the policy have included fines, arrests and the destruction of homes, as well as forced abortion and sterilization. Infanticide, especially of females, also has been reported.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Family, Children, Life, Abortion, Disabled, Stem-Cell Research, Science, Bioethics