Posted on 07/07/2002 11:24:26 AM PDT by Keyes For President
Edited on 09/03/2002 4:50:44 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The Bush administration has approved the first federally funded project using stem cells obtained from fetuses aborted up to eight weeks after conception, expanding the scientific promise of stem cell research and complicating the ethics debate that surrounds it.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
How can Bush disallow funding for fetal stem cell?
IS ATTACKING IN WAR ON TERRORISTS OTHER DO BREAK RULES OK I BREAK WILL OTHER LIKE LIKE BREAK ASK WILL RULES CHANGE ATTACKING ON KNOW STOP FINISHED.
Cryptographers, start your primers. All others, must be a screw up in semantics.
You wouldn't reckon there was a reason behind not posting the article in it's entireity would you? Oh transcripts where are thou?
Section 289g-1. Research on transplantation of fetal tissue
(a) Establishment of program
(1) In general
The Secretary may conduct or support research on the
transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes.
(2) Source of tissue
Human fetal tissue may be used in research carried out under
paragraph (1) regardless of whether the tissue is obtained
pursuant to a spontaneous or induced abortion or pursuant to a
stillbirth.
(b) Informed consent of donor
(1) In general
In research carried out under subsection (a) of this section,
human fetal tissue may be used only if the woman providing the
tissue makes a statement, made in writing and signed by the
woman, declaring that -
(A) the woman donates the fetal tissue for use in research
described in subsection (a) of this section;
(B) the donation is made without any restriction regarding
the identity of individuals who may be the recipients of
transplantations of the tissue; and
(C) the woman has not been informed of the identity of any
such individuals.
(2) Additional statement
In research carried out under subsection (a) of this section,
human fetal tissue may be used only if the attending physician
with respect to obtaining the tissue from the woman involved
makes a statement, made in writing and signed by the physician,
declaring that -
(A) in the case of tissue obtained pursuant to an induced
abortion -
(i) the consent of the woman for the abortion was obtained
prior to requesting or obtaining consent for a donation of
the tissue for use in such research;
(ii) no alteration of the timing, method, or procedures
used to terminate the pregnancy was made solely for the
purposes of obtaining the tissue; and
(iii) the abortion was performed in accordance with
applicable State law;
(B) the tissue has been donated by the woman in accordance
with paragraph (1); and
(C) full disclosure has been provided to the woman with
regard to -
(i) such physician's interest, if any, in the research to
be conducted with the tissue; and
(ii) any known medical risks to the woman or risks to her
privacy that might be associated with the donation of the
tissue and that are in addition to risks of such type that
are associated with the woman's medical care.
(c) Informed consent of researcher and donee
In research carried out under subsection (a) of this section,
human fetal tissue may be used only if the individual with the
principal responsibility for conducting the research involved makes
a statement, made in writing and signed by the individual,
declaring that the individual -
(1) is aware that -
(A) the tissue is human fetal tissue;
(B) the tissue may have been obtained pursuant to a
spontaneous or induced abortion or pursuant to a stillbirth;
and
(C) the tissue was donated for research purposes;
(2) has provided such information to other individuals with
responsibilities regarding the research;
(3) will require, prior to obtaining the consent of an
individual to be a recipient of a transplantation of the tissue,
written acknowledgment of receipt of such information by such
recipient; and
(4) has had no part in any decisions as to the timing, method,
or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy made solely for the
purposes of the research.
(d) Availability of statements for audit
(1) In general
In research carried out under subsection (a) of this section,
human fetal tissue may be used only if the head of the agency or
other entity conducting the research involved certifies to the
Secretary that the statements required under subsections (b)(2)
and (c) of this section will be available for audit by the
Secretary.
(2) Confidentiality of audit
Any audit conducted by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall be conducted in a confidential manner to protect the
privacy rights of the individuals and entities involved in such
research, including such individuals and entities involved in the
donation, transfer, receipt, or transplantation of human fetal
tissue. With respect to any material or information obtained
pursuant to such audit, the Secretary shall -
(A) use such material or information only for the purposes of
verifying compliance with the requirements of this section;
(B) not disclose or publish such material or information,
except where required by Federal law, in which case such
material or information shall be coded in a manner such that
the identities of such individuals and entities are protected;
and
(C) not maintain such material or information after
completion of such audit, except where necessary for the
purposes of such audit.
(e) Applicability of State and local law
(1) Research conducted by recipients of assistance
The Secretary may not provide support for research under
subsection (a) of this section unless the applicant for the
financial assistance involved agrees to conduct the research in
accordance with applicable State law.
(2) Research conducted by Secretary
The Secretary may conduct research under subsection (a) of this
section only in accordance with applicable State and local law.
(f) Report
The Secretary shall annually submit to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and to the Committee
on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, a report describing the
activities carried out under this section during the preceding
fiscal year, including a description of whether and to what extent
research under subsection (a) of this section has been conducted in
accordance with this section.
(g) ''Human fetal tissue'' defined
For purposes of this section, the term ''human fetal tissue''
means tissue or cells obtained from a dead human embryo or fetus
after a spontaneous or induced abortion, or after a stillbirth.
Section 289g-2. Prohibitions regarding human fetal tissue
(a) Purchase of tissue
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire,
receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable
consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce.
(b) Solicitation or acceptance of tissue as directed donation for
use in transplantation
It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or knowingly
acquire, receive, or accept a donation of human fetal tissue for
the purpose of transplantation of such tissue into another person
if the donation affects interstate commerce, the tissue will be or
is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion, and -
(1) the donation will be or is made pursuant to a promise to
the donating individual that the donated tissue will be
transplanted into a recipient specified by such individual;
(2) the donated tissue will be transplanted into a relative of
the donating individual; or
(3) the person who solicits or knowingly acquires, receives, or
accepts the donation has provided valuable consideration for the
costs associated with such abortion.
(c) Criminal penalties for violations
(1) In general
Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of this section
shall be fined in accordance with title 18, subject to paragraph
(2), or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
(2) Penalties applicable to persons receiving consideration
With respect to the imposition of a fine under paragraph (1),
if the person involved violates subsection (a) or (b)(3) of this
section, a fine shall be imposed in an amount not less than twice
the amount of the valuable consideration received.
(d) Definitions
For purposes of this section:
(1) The term ''human fetal tissue'' has the meaning given such
term in section 289g-1(f) (FOOTNOTE 1) of this title.
(FOOTNOTE 1) So in original. Probably should be section
''289g-1(g)''.
(2) The term ''interstate commerce'' has the meaning given such
term in section 321(b) of title 21.
(3) The term ''valuable consideration'' does not include
reasonable payments associated with the transportation,
implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or
storage of human fetal tissue.
In fact he completely lost his veto pen, he only recently found it in time to threaten to veto medical benefits for our veterans.
Please share the link to LF. I think I might like it there.
TIA
Some opponents of abortion say Bush should have tried to stop all funding of work using embryos and fetuses. Bush signaled his position in 2000, responding to a candidate questionnaire from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "I oppose using federal funds to perform fetal tissue research from induced abortions," he wrote. Some conservatives expect him to honor that.
Honoring a pledge? Ha ha! Those conservatives are suckers. Either Bush did not know about the law, in which case he is a dunce. Or, he doesn't care one way or the other, in which case he is not really a conservative. Well, who didn't know that?
It gets a little messy over there from time to time, but if you can stand the heat there's a lot in the pot.
Will you please flag me when he gets around to it?
Huh the fact that a demo controlled Congress(1993) passed a law that forbade a President from witholding funding and that a demo President signed it is an arguement of fact.
Please, enlighten us all as to what Constitutional authority the President has to fund anything at all, funding is a Congressional responsibility, not an Executive responsibility. The President can veto any funding bill which might have anything he objects too in it. Secondly, Congress passes laws all the time which are in effect Unconstitutional, President Bush could challenge that law in the USSC, but then again he might have to actually take a stance on a henious activity.
It is you who apparently needs to deal with facts, however to do that, you have to be able to recognize one.
Keep pointing the finger.
---max
Speaking of transcript....I was listening to an interview the other day, on NPR of all places. After a particular comment was made, the interviewer said, "And by the way, for those of you reading this on transcript, there was much irony in [the interviewee]'s voice when he made the last comment." - and the interviewee made a noise of agreement.
Where do embryonic stem cells come from?
Human embryonic stem cells are derived from fertilized embryos less than a week old. Using 14 blastocysts obtained from donated, surplus embryos produced by in vitro fertilization, a group of UW-Madison developmental biologists led by James Thomson established five independent stem cell lines in November 1998. This was the first time human embryonic stem cells had been successfully isolated and cultured.
The cell lines were capable of prolonged, undifferentiated proliferation in culture and yet maintained the ability to develop into a variety of specific cell types, including neural, gut, muscle, bone and cartilage cells.
The embryos used in the work at UW-Madison were originally produced to treat infertility and were donated specially for this project with the informed consent of donor couples who no longer wanted the embryos for implantation.
In virtually every in vitro fertilization clinic in the world, surplus embryos are discarded if they are not donated to help other infertile couples or for research. The research protocols were reviewed and approved by a UW-Madison Institutional Review Board, a panel of scientists and medical ethicists who oversee such work.
Why are embryonic stem cells important?
Embryonic stem cells are of great interest to medicine and science because of their ability to develop into virtually any other cell made by the human body. In theory, if stem cells can be grown and their development directed in culture, it would be possible to grow cells of medical importance such as bone marrow, neural tissue or muscle.
The first potential applications of human embryonic stem cell technology may be in the area of drug discovery. The ability to grow pure populations of specific cell types offers a proving ground for chemical compounds that may have medical importance. Treating specific cell types with chemicals and measuring their response offers a short-cut to sort out chemicals that can be used to treat the diseases that involve those specific cell types. Stem cell technology, therefore, would permit the rapid screening of hundreds of thousands of chemicals that must now be tested through much more time-consuming processes.
The study of human development also benefits from embryonic stem cell research. The earliest stages of human development have been difficult or impossible to study. Human embryonic stem cells offer insights into developmental events that cannot be studied directly in humans in utero or fully understood through the use of animal models. Understanding the events that occur at the first stages of development has potential clinical significance for preventing or treating birth defects, infertility and pregnancy loss. A thorough knowledge of normal development could ultimately allow the prevention or treatment of abnormal human development. For instance, screening drugs by testing them on cultured human embryonic stem cells could help reduce the risk of drug-related birth defects.
How might embryonic stem cells be used to treat disease?
The ability to grow human tissue of all kinds opens the door to treating a range of cell-based diseases and to growing medically important tissues that can be used for transplantation purposes. For example, diseases like juvenile onset diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's disease occur because of defects in one of just a few cells types. Replacing faulty cells with healthy ones offers hope of lifelong treatment. Similarly, failing hearts and other organs, in theory, could be shored up by injecting healthy cells to replace damaged or diseased cells.
Why not derive stem cells from adults?
There are several approaches now in human clinical trials that utilize mature stem cells (such as blood-forming cells, neuron-forming cells and cartilage-forming cells). However, because adult cells are already specialized, their potential to regenerate damaged tissue is very limited: skin cells will only become skin and cartilage cells will only become cartilage. Adults do not have stem cells in many vital organs, so when those tissues are damaged, scar tissue develops. Only embryonic stem cells, which have the capacity to become any kind of human tissue, have the potential to repair vital organs.
Another limitation of adult stem cells is their inability to proliferate in culture. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which have a capacity to reproduce indefinitely in the laboratory, adult stem cells are difficult to grow in the lab and their potential to reproduce diminishes with age. Therefore, obtaining clinically significant amounts of adult stem cells may prove to be difficult.
Studies of adult stem cells are important and will provide valuable insights into the use of stem cell in transplantation procedures. However, only through exploration of all types of stem cell research will scientists find the most efficient and effective ways to treat diseases.
What are the benefits of studying embryonic stem cells? Pluripotent stem cells represent hope for millions of Americans. They have the potential to treat or cure a myriad of diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, spinal cord injuries and burns.
This extraordinary research is still in its infancy and practical application will only be possible with additional study. Scientists need to understand what leads cells to specialization in order to direct cells to become particular types of tissue. For example, islet cells control insulin production in the pancreas, which is disrupted in people with diabetes. If an individual with diabetes is to be cured, the stem cells used for treatment must develop into new insulin-producing islet cells, not heart tissue or other cells. Research is required to determine how to control the differentiation of stem cells so they will be therapeutically effective. Research is also necessary to study the potential of immune rejection of the cells, and how to overcome that problem.
IOW, the good folks at UW clearly see no wrong in benefiting from the death of an innocent. Human becomes blastocyst, etc. I despise them.
Yes, it is. If you read the full article, you find out just how misleading the title is, because Bush had nothing to do with allowing funding of this research.
Hmmm....
Well, I guess so.
But isn't GW's wife and mother for the choice to choose?
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