LIFE DIGEST: FDA delays human embryonic stem cell trial
- May 20, 2008 - comment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed experiments on human beings using embryonic stem cells.
The announcement was a blow to the hopes of the Geron Corp., which had applied for FDA approval for the first human clinical trial using the controversial research to treat spinal cord injuries, Bloomberg News reported. Geron, which announced the FDA action May 14, had reported in February it expected to begin embryonic stem cell experiments this summer, according to CNNMoney.com.
A Southern Baptist, pro-life bioethicist said the good news of the FDA’s postponement may not last long.
“Any delay is good news, but it is like those human embryos used in research—it is likely to be short lived,” said C. Ben Mitchell, director of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity in suburban Chicago and a consultant to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
“The FDA makes its decisions about drugs and procedures on the basis of safety and effectiveness,” he said. “Since they don’t regard human embryos as persons, their safety does not matter. As we know from the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug RU 486, the destruction of unborn human life is not of great importance to our federal drug agency.”
At an April 10 meeting of experts sponsored by the FDA, Steve Bauer, chief of the agency’s cell and tissue therapy branch, said it might require “particularly strong” proof of the effectiveness of stem cell treatments, according to Bloomberg News.
So far, embryonic stem cells not only have failed to produce treatments in human beings, but they have been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals. In addition, the extraction of stem cells from embryos results in the destruction of the tiny human being.
In November, scientists reported they had discovered another means to produce embryonic-like stem cells without destroying human life. The cells produced by the method, known as reprogramming or dedifferentiation, are called “induced pluripotent stem” cells.
The use of stem cells from non-embryonic sources—such as umbilical cord blood, placentas, fat and bone marrow—has produced treatments for at least 73 human ailments, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research.
Stem cells are the body’s master cells that can develop into other cells and tissues, giving hope for the development of cures for a variety of diseases and other ailments.
Abortion advocates decry NARAL’s Obama endorsement
One of the country’s leading abortion rights organizations endorsed Barack Obama for president instead of fellow Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and other pro-choice advocates have criticized the decision.
NARAL Pro-choice America announced May 14 its support of the United States senator from Illinois, even though the senator from New York also is a strong advocate for abortion rights. The endorsement by NARAL so near the end of the primary campaign quickly drew fire from other abortion rights backers.
“I think it is tremendously disrespectful” to Clinton “to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process,” said Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY’S List, on the same day NARAL’s decision was announced. “It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them.”
EMILY’S List, which recruits and funds pro-choice Democratic women in election campaigns, endorsed Clinton in January 2007.
Several NARAL state chapters also took issue with the national office’s decision. Affiliates in Missouri, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington opposed the endorsement of Obama, according to The New York Times.
The decision “is premature,” NARAL Pro-choice Pennsylvania said in a written statement. The endorsement was made by the Washington-based, national office without consulting state chapters, the Pennsylvania group said.
In announcing the endorsement, NARAL President Nancy Keenan described Obama as “a strong advocate for a woman’s right to choose throughout his career in public office. Sen. Obama supports legislation to provide our teens with comprehensive sex education, prevent pharmacies from denying women access to their legal birth-control prescriptions, and increase access to family-planning services.”
There is evidence Obama is even more committed to unrestricted abortion rights than Clinton. As a member of the Illinois legislature, he opposed a bill that would have provided protection for a newborn who survives an attempted abortion, something Clinton has not done.
Obama possesses what appears to be an insurmountable lead over Clinton. He has 1,900 delegates and 298 super delegates, while Clinton has 1,718 and 275, respectively, according to RealClearPolitics.
Methodists repent of past support for eugenics
The United Methodist Church (UMC) has repented of its past support for eugenics.
The UMC voted 836-28 at its General Conference April 30 in Fort Worth, Texas, to apologize for Methodist involvement in the eugenics movement during the early decades of the 20th century. The action made the UMC the first religious denomination to repent of its support of the eugenics movement, bioethics specialist Jennifer Lahl reported on the weblog bioethics.com.
Eugenics is the effort to produce better human beings through breeding. In this country, the movement included the forced sterilization of the “feeble minded” and mentally ill, as well as laws against interracial marriage.
In the 1920s, Methodist churches promoted “Fitter Family Contests” sponsored by the American Eugenics Society, according to the text of the UMC-approved resolution. Many Methodist pastors entered sermons on eugenics in American Eugenics Society contests.
In addition to Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians were especially supportive of the eugenics movement in the United States, according to the resolution.
Under the title “Repentance for Support of Eugenics,” the resolution concluded:
“The United Methodist General Conference formally apologizes for Methodist leaders and Methodist bodies who in the past supported eugenics as sound science and sound theology. We lament the ways eugenics was used to justify the sterilization of persons deemed less worthy. We lament that Methodist support of eugenics policies was used to keep persons of different races from marrying and forming legally recognized families. We are especially grieved that the politics of eugenics led to the extermination of millions of people by the Nazi government and continues today as ‘ethnic cleansing’ around the world.”
Arizona board OKs nurses to perform abortions
Nurses in Arizona have newly granted permission to perform some abortions, but the state legislature is trying to put a stop to the practice.
The Arizona State Board of Nursing voted May 14 to allow nurse practitioners with special training to do first-trimester abortions using the aspiration, or suction, procedure, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The board decided nurses would not be permitted to perform abortions after the 13th week of pregnancy.
The action made Arizona the first state to officially approve nurse practitioners to do abortions, according to the pro-life Center for Arizona Policy, Family News in Focus reported.
Mary Andrews, a nurse practitioner at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Tucson, had been performing abortions and had asked the state nursing board to approve her work. More than half of the abortions performed at Planned Parenthood’s Tucson clinic are done by a nurse practitioner, the Daily Star reported.
The House of Representatives already has passed a bill that would prohibit nurses from performing abortions, requiring a doctor to do the procedure. A Senate committee also has approved the measure, but the full Senate has yet to vote on it.
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