LAC News
Senate to Vote on Bioethics Legislation This Week
By Amelia Wigton
July 2006

            After more than a year of debate on bioethical issues, the Senate is tentatively scheduled this week to vote on a three-bill agreement that will address fetus farming, embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) and alternatives to ESCR.

            The first bill, which Concerned Women for America (CWA) opposes, is the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810).  This legislation passed in the House of Representatives more than one year ago in a 238-194 vote and is now before the Senate.  H.R. 810 would provide federal funding for the destruction of human embryos.

            The second bill, sponsored by the Republican senators from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, has been proposed as an alternative to destroying actual embryos in research.  Called the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapy Enhancement Act (S. 2754), it aims to create embryos for research without harming human life. CWA has not taken a position on this bill.

            CWA supports the final piece of legislation, the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006 (S. 3504), which is sponsored by Sens. Santorum and Brownback (R-Kansas).  The legislation aims to prevent a science-fiction-like research environment in the United States where fetuses are created and destroyed in the name of research.

            Sen. Brownback said in a statement: “I welcome this debate on bioethics and stem cells and I look forward to making the case for successful, ethical and noncontroversial adult stem-cell research.

            “Today we have derived over 70 peer-reviewed and published medical treatments from adult stem-cell research, while the outlook of embryonic stem-cell research is speculative. The federal government should not commit taxpayer dollars to morally wrong embryonic stem-cell research when ethical adult stem-cell research is delivering real medical treatments. Some of the very treatments promised by proponents of stem-cell research are actually being delivered by adult stem cells.”

            During the long debate in Congress over bioethical issues, scandal has abounded in the field of embryonic stem-cell research, which lacks any successes.  The leading ESCR scientist, Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk from South Korea, admitted to faking research results and coercing female subordinate researchers into donating their eggs. 

            In sharp contrast, more than 60 cases of real treatments in humans involving adult and cord-blood stem-cell research have proven that this ethical form of science is remarkably promising.

            “As scientific research continues to advance, Congress must set a clear ethical standard to prevent horrific abuses of human life,” said Lanier Swann, CWA’s Director of Government Relations.  “The American people must not be misled by those who justify destroying life through research in an effort to ‘save’ another life.  In fact, no lives are saved in this destructive research, and it is imperative that Congress does not allow taxpayer dollars to fund divisive and un-promising research involving embryos and other unborn humans.”

Read more:  Adult Stem-Cell Treatments: A Better Way