Leukemia Society Bashed for Backing Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is getting heat from a pro-life organization because it backs embryonic stem cell research that requires the destruction of human life. The crux of the debate between the groups revolves around a letter LLS signed in favor of a bill to require taxpayer funding of the research.

After learning that the Planned Parenthood watchdog group Life Decisions International had LLS to a group of charities pro-life advocates should boycott, a pro-life advocate wrote the organization.

LLS spokesman Doug Lubbers wrote to the pro-life person, saying "This is a complex and emotional subject, and I think it therefore requires that we carefully analyze the facts."

"I believe that your information derives from the fact that L&LS, along with the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network and 520 other patient advocacy groups were co-signers to a letter to the House and the Senate, dated January 10, 2007, supporting the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act," Lubbers wrote.

"Although the Congress passed that legislation, it was vetoed by the President in June," Lubbers told the pro-life advocate. "Therefore, this law has not been implemented."

But LDI spokesman Doug Scott told LifeNews.com that Lubbers was passing the buck and attempting to downplay LLS's support for the embryonic funding bill.

"This is an attempt to justify the signing of the letter," Scott said, calling it "an attempt to evade the facts."

"The hospital and other groups are responsible for their having signed just as L&LS is responsible for adding its name to the letter," Scott added.

"The fact is that L&LS wanted the legislation to pass. L&LS opposed the veto," Scott told LifeNews.com. "L&LS is attempting to excuse its actions by saying, 'Well, we failed to get what we wanted, so let's pretend we had no role in trying to make it happen.'"

Scott also singled out a comment Lubbers made in his letter as an attempt to avoid admitting LLS' position on embryonic stem cell research.

Lubbers wrote that the Society does not "support the destruction of innocent life" but rather "opposes the fertilization of human eggs for the purpose of research."

"All this proves is that L&LS opposes the fertilization of human eggs for the express purpose of conducting experiments on them," Scott said. "But if the embryos were created without that specific purpose in mind, it is okay to do whatever you want to them."

Scott urges pro-life advocates to contact the charitable group and urge it to reverse its position backing embryonic stem cell research.

Contact: Mr. Dwayne Howell, President & CEO, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 1311 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; Phone: 800-955-4572 or (914) 949-6691.

Yeah, let’s boycott the primary fundraising and awareness charity for blood cancers. It’s not like leukemia research over several decades has been one of several areas at the core of our increased understanding of genes, and of cancer as an entity. It’s not like the search for new treatments for leukemia - a set of cancers, many of which have astoundingly poor prognoses and entail some of the most devastating treatment to have a shot at those chances - has vanguarded new treatments in other cancers, new methodologies, tremendous advances in marrow transplantation and keeping people alive which have bled over into transplantations of all types. It’s not as though the hematopoietic system is mind-bogglingly complex, and the more we unravel about it through research into blood cancers the more we understand how everything in the body works, how cells interact with each other, how cells change each other, how cells of any sort are actually made.

And it’s certainly not like blood cancer incidence rises dramatically with age, just as it’s not like survivors of most other cancers have a significantly increased risk of developing a blood cancer as a result of exposure to their live-saving treatments and having the good luck to survive for several years. (And it’s REALLY not like those survivors of other cancers are most likely to develop acute myeloid leukemia, which has about a 19% 3-year survival rate across all cohorts, or that the type of AML these people develop tends to be among the least responsive to treatment - in a disease that already has a very brief response period.)

Screw that. Those non-profit jerks hedged in the language of a letter about stem cell research!

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.