Advanced Cell Technology's Ethics Advisory Board Testifies Before U.S. Senate Subcommittee

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB:ACTC.OB) today announced that Ronald Green, Ph.D., Director of Dartmouth College's Ethics Institute and Chairman of the Advanced Cell Technology's Ethics Advisory Board testified today before the Senate Labor, Health & Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Dr. Green's testimony focused on the benefits of In Vitro Fertilization and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, and how the method developed by Advanced Cell Technology for generating human embryonic stem cells maintains the developmental potential of the embryo. Additionally, Dr. Green discussed the important roles of both Congress and the President in potentially allowing federal funding for stem cell lines derived using Advanced Cell Technology's method, which was published online (ahead of print) on August 23 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

While discussing Advanced Cell Technology's method for deriving human embryonic stem cells, Dr. Green explained, "I believe that the method of stem cell derivation announced by Advanced Cell Technology researchers in their August 24 report in the journal Nature represents a real opportunity to move human embryonic stem cell research forward in this country in a way that respects the ethical sensitivities of the vast majority of our citizens. The overwhelming majority of Americans support both IVF and PGD, as these procedures help infertile couples have children and allow those who carry genetic diseases to have healthy children."

Commenting on the embryos used in Advanced Cell Technology's research that were not allowed to develop, Dr. Green explained, "The embryos used were donated by people who had fully consented to the research and understood, and even required, that the embryos would not be allowed to go on to further development. It is not unique that the initial research needed to develop morally acceptable methods or materials do not meet everyone's approval, but this does not impugn the methods or materials produced as a result of that research."

Couple this with the disclaimer posted at the end, and one wonders why they even wasted the time or space to try to defend this "process." There's nothing new here.

A Way Out? Scientists might now be able to harvest stem cells without harming embryos.

(Washington Post Editorial, Monday, August 28, 2006; Page A14)

When President Bush restricted federal funding for stem cell research in 2001, he claimed he opposed “providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life.” Last week, the scientific community addressed Mr. Bush’s expressed moral concern in a study reported in the journal Nature, revealing a new method for extracting embryonic stem cells that its backers say poses no additional risk to human embryos.

But instead of embracing the potential of the new procedure, which might be a way of advancing stem cell research without destroying potential humans, the president registered his concerns about using any new embryonic material for scientific research. “Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical concerns. This technique does not resolve those concerns,” the White House said. “The President is hopeful that with time scientists can find ways of deriving cells like those now derived from human embryos but without the need for using embryos.”

Later, a White House spokeswoman tried to backpedal, insisting that Mr. Bush is waiting for expert reviews of the study’s findings before making any final judgments. Yet the president’s initial statement on the matter indicates that he will search for new—and far less convincing—reasons to keep federal coffers shut from stem cell researchers.

The new method of gathering stem cells involves taking a single cell from a young embryo of around eight cells, a procedure that does not kill the embryo as earlier methods of stem cell extraction did, said Robert Lanza, the lead researcher. According to Ronald M. Green, director of Dartmouth College’s Ethics Institute, the new method allows researchers to create stem cells as byproducts of a standard procedure in fertility clinics. There doctors often take one cell from eight-cell embryos to test for genetic defects such as Down syndrome. The rest of the embryo can grow into a normal human child, according to all available scientific evidence. Instead of immediately conducting the genetic test on the extracted cell, doctors can allow it to multiply overnight, use one of the resulting cells for the genetic analysis and create brand-new stem cell lines from the others.

Have you seen the estimates of how many millions of eggs this is likely to require and what kind of abuses of women, usually assumed to be poor 3rd worlders, this entails?

Ethically, it assumes that the government has a right to seize, as if by emminent domain, cells from one vulnerable citizen to use for research or treatment of another. None of the people who want to do this have any embryos of their own. They want to comandeer someone else's.

All of these concerns remain in an atmosphere where the only rationale is based on political hype, not scientific proof of any real benefit.

Have you seen the estimates of how many millions of eggs this is likely to require and what kind of abuses of women, usually assumed to be poor 3rd worlders, this entails?

No .... but I;m interested in reading anything you can link me to.

According to the company, " generated human embryonic stem cells (HES cells) using an approach that does not harm embryos. The technique is derives stem cells from human blastomeres with a single-cell biopsy technique called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

I'm no genious ... but doesn't that take the wind out of the argument that potential babies will be destroyed?

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