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May 4, 2005 Texas Thinks Hard about Stem Cell Research I would not have believed Texas could even consider state funding for embryonic stem cell research until I read this in the Dallas Morning News: One of the most important questions facing legislators in Austin this session is how to treat research that involves embryonic stem cells, which many scientists believe can help cure diseases such as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's, as well as spinal cord injuries and other debilitating conditions. Such research is in addition to ongoing research using adult stem cells, which are much more limited in supply....

TPRC Chairman Criticized for Faith During Stem Cell Hearing Dr. Linda Flower, Texas Physicians Resource Council Chairman, was criticized for her faith during a legislative hearing on Monday, April 11. While presenting evidence against embryonic stem cell research in front of the Texas House State Affairs Committee, Dr. Flower experienced considerable backlash from Rep. Villarreal (D - San Antonio), as he made numerous attempts to discredit her scientific research on the basis of her pro-life, Christian background. She answered him with "My faith informed my science, but I am a scientist, and I am presenting my scientific evidence." Dr. Flower...

Position on C.S.S.B 1 Amendments TO: House Member FROM: Joe Pojman, Ph.D., Executive Director DATE: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Dear Member, As you consider the amendments to C.S.S.B 1, the General Appropriations Bill, please consider the position of Texas Alliance for Life on several amendments. We ask that you vote to support the amendments supported by Texas Alliance for Life and that you vote to oppose those amendments opposed by Texas Alliance for Life. Article 1, General Government Page 17, Thompson, OPPOSE - This forces Texas taxpayers to fund as much as $15 million per fiscal year for embryonic stem...

I am sympathetic to immigrants, since half my great grandparents were immigrants. I have also seen some families whose efforts serve to build up our country, and believe that we are better off because they immigrated. I know some immigrants from Europe and Asia, as well as some from North and Central America who have no intention of ever becoming citizens and I resent that. I also believe that there are people who are still trying to buy a green card under the last "amnesty," through lawyers who seem unscrupulous to me. It is wrong to set up a system...

<>B>79th Legislature Bills on Cloning, Stem Cell research, and bioethics funding Could be Good SB 943 Armbrister Referred to Senate True prohibition of cloning. No mention of research on embryos produced by other means. HB 864 King of Parker County True prohibition of cloning, but no mention of embryonic stem cell research or research involving the creation of embryos by in vitro fertilization. HB 2081 Paxton Referred to the House State Affairs Committee Prohibits State funding of any research involving destruction of human embryos, including embryonic stem cell research. Does not ban embryonic stem cell research or cloning, but would...

A Diagnosis With a Dose of Religion By JOHN SCHWARTZ and DENISE GRADY Published: March 24, 2005 William P. Cheshire Jr., the Florida doctor cited by Gov. Jeb Bush yesterday in his announcement that he would intervene again in the case of Terri Schiavo, is a neurologist and bioethicist whose life and work have been guided by his religious beliefs. Dr. Cheshire directs a laboratory at the Mayo Clinic branch in Jacksonville dealing with unconscious reflexes like digestion, and he is director of biotech ethics at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, a nonprofit group founded by "more than...

Number 252 February 23, 2005 CONTENTS ========== Stem Cell Debate At Harvard - Leroy Garrett Subscription Information (Here is a brief, clear, and definitive essay on the stem cell debate by Leroy Garrett which you may want to save for reference. I thank Leroy for permission to send this to you. -CH) Stem Cell Debate At Harvard ======================= The use of embryonic stem cells for regenerative medicine has become a profoundly divisive issue in recent years, both here and abroad. There is evidence that the transplantation of such cells might cure or prevent such diseases as Parkinson's, diabetes, ALS (Lou...

U.S. Fertility Group Offers Embryo Stem Cells Thu Jan 27,11:19 AM ET Health - Reuters By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A human genetics clinic said on Thursday it had developed 18 new lines of disease-carrying embryonic stem cells and was offering them to researchers eager to study their potential for treating inherited diseases. Yahoo! Health Have questions about your health? Find answers here. The action could be a small boost for scientists who have been stymied by strict federal limitations on stem-cell research, including a ban on federal funding for development of new lines of...

I turn 49 next month. So my Driver's license needs to be renewed. I went early - well, I had a big meeting in Austin and the makeup worked and it was a cold day and the black turtleneck would look great for the next 10 years, I took my 2 forms of ID, my car insurance, my 31 year old Social Security Card, and gave the little red light my thumbprints and the lady my check. Two weeks later, I got my new license (did I mention that the makeup and turtleneck were working - first good picture in...

The Burden of Sex For the first time, researchers have compiled a comprehensive tally of the health problems caused by sexual behavior in the United States, and it's not a pretty picture. Overall, they report that sexual behavior results in 3 times more premature death and disability in the U.S. compared to other wealthy countries. Epidemiologists have assessed the disability and death caused by sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the past, but that's only one part of the picture, says Shahul Ebrahim of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. STD infections can also increase the likelihood of...

Posted on Wed, Jan. 26, 2005 Legislators take crash course in stem cell research JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry won't support embryonic stem cell research. His potential Republican rival for the office, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, says Texas can't be left behind by other states that will. On Wednesday, the Legislature hosted a forum on the politically polarizing issue, getting a crash course in the science and ethics behind stem cell research, its potential for treating disease and the moral debate that rages with it. "It's a timely, controversial and complex issue," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 19, 2005 CONTACT: Kevin Schweers SENATOR HUTCHISON LAMENTS LOST HEALTH CARE FUNDING Texas Forfeited $104 Million in Additional CHIP Funding, HHS Says WASHINGTON, DC -- In a setback for Texas taxpayers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced that the State of Texas forfeited $104 million in Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for fiscal year 2002, raising the total lost by the state since 2000 to more than $700 million. “The health care system in Texas, and particularly our county hospital network, is under enormous pressure because of the large number of...

Abortion foes tap governor Web Posted: 01/15/2005 12:00 AM CST Peggy Fikac Chief, Express-News Austin bureau AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, who may face a re-election challenge from within his party next year, plans to headline a Capitol rally next weekend on an issue of importance to GOP primary voters — abortion. "Join pro-life Texas Gov. Rick Perry!" says a Web posting by the Texas Alliance for Life touting next Saturday's Texas Rally for Life. "We've been putting it (the rally) on for about 15 years. This is the first time a governor has appeared. We're just ecstatic about that,"...

Mailbag: Absolutist Feminism The IWF has no official position on abortion, and we welcome both pro-life and pro-choice women on our board and staff and among the readers of InkWell. What we do take a strong posision on--we’re adamantly opposed--is the insistence of some radical feminists that you can’t be a good feminist unless you’re an absolutist on abortion rights. And also the rad-fems’ insistence that you can’t be pro-choice if you’re not voting for John Kerry in November. Reader B.N. points out that the rad-fems’ requirement that women who call themselves "feminists" subscribe to every last jot and tittle...

Email alert concerning CNN poll, "Should medics be allowed to refuse procedures on moral or religious grounds?" Should medical personnel and hospitals have the right to refuse to provide a treatment on moral or religious grounds? http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/09/15/abortion.refusals.ap/index.html Poll partway down on the right side. Get the word out fast! The poll is now 20% in favor of protecting the rights of medical personnel to refuse. They will probably take it down within a few hours. Please do not forward my email address to anyone. Thank you.

It is increasingly clear that tissue-specific stem cells might not be as lineage restricted as originally thought. For example, neural stem cells can repopulate the haematopoietic system, and rare multipotent adult rodent bone marrow stem cells can differentiate into most somatic lineages. Now, Alexander Storch and co-workers describe the efficient conversion of adult human mesodermal stromal cells (hMSCs) from bone marrow into neural stem cell (NSC)-like cells (see p. 4411). The authors convert hMSCs into human marrow-derived NSC-like cells (hmNSCs) by growing them as non-adherent neurospheres – NSCs have previously been derived from embryonic stem cells by a similar approach....

August 24, 2004 Stem Cells: Promise, in Search of Results By GINA KOLATA OSTON - At three laboratories here, separated by a taxi ride of no more than 10 or 15 minutes, the world of stem cell research can be captured in all its complexity, promise and diversity. One of the labs focuses on cells taken from human embryos, another on cells from mice and fish, and a third from stem cells that have mysteriously survived in the adult body long after their original mission is over. But while the work here and elsewhere has touched off a debate reaching...

Ron Reagan Misguided on Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Cloning Chicago, Illinois - July 27, 2004 - Tonight, Ron Reagan, Jr. addressed the Democratic National Convention promoting research on stem cells taken from living human embryos. In his remarks, Reagan said, "We may be able to put an end to...suffering. We only need to try." He also described the way this research will work is by cloning human beings. President of The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity John Kilner, Ph.D. responded, "History is littered with misguided attempts to relieve suffering by cutting ethical corners. All that Ron Reagan advocated can...

TMA endorses funding for stem cell research JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN - The largest doctors group in President Bush's home state has endorsed embryonic stem cell research and says federal funding should be restored for new studies to combat disease. The Texas Medical Association, the country's largest state physician organization with more than 39,000 members, recently adopted a resolution supporting embryonic and adult stem cell research and a process called "therapeutic cloning," but said it would oppose cloning to produce a human child. The endorsement was publicized in the TMA's monthly magazine released Wednesday. Federal help for embryonic stem...

Wesley J. Smith on Reagan and Euthanasia on National Review Onlinehttp://www.nationalreview.com/comment/smith200406170902.asp Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:36 AM Subject: Wesley J. Smith on Reagan and Euthanasia on National Review Online.htm June 17, 2004, 9:02 a.m. Compassionate or Callous? Assisted suicide undermines our essential humanity. By Wesley J. Smith Compassion, literally defined, means, "to suffer with another." That is why I have always found the monopolization of that word by proponents of euthanasia and assisted suicide so discordant. Euthanasia isn't about suffering with anybody. It's about using someone's suffering - and the pity it evokes - as a justification to kill....