ALS association isn’t the only charity involved. There are others but the press is pushing this one.
(AP) — A Catholic diocese in Ohio is discouraging its schools from participating in the ice bucket challenge to benefit the ALS Association, citing its funding of research involving embryonic stem cells.
Ice bucket challenge co-founder laid to rest after drowning in diving accident.
I am glad that the Ice Bucket Challenge is getting attention. For too many years ALS has been associated with Muscular Dystrophy Association and the funding NEVER flowed to ALS research.
I lost my mother to ALS nearly 20 years ago and while you may not like everything about what people are doing at least it is raising awareness about this brutal disease.
In an email to Religion News Service, Carrie Munk, a spokeswoman for the ALS Association, said that the organization primarily funds adult stem cell research.
“Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC), and the stem cell line was established many years ago under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); this research is funded by ONE specific donor, who is committed to this area of research,” she said. “The project is in its final phase and will come to an end very soon.”
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/19/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fund-embryonic-stem-cell-research/