This is a very good reply to all people that think that embryonic stem cell research is the way to “help” our society. It is rather long, but well worth the read. It was written by Dr. Dan Pepin who was a guest of mine on Capitol Hill for our “Toast to Adult and Cord Blood Therapy: Helping Patients now and in the Future.

Thanks,
Bill Schneeberger

 

  Below is my reply to U.S. Senator Carl Levin' reponse to an earlier e-mail
asking him to support S.2754 and S.3504, and to oppose S.471 (H.R.810). 
Please feel free to edit this if you should require a similar argumant.

Dear Senator Levin,

I thank you for taking the time to respond to my e-mail.  With due respect,
Sir, I would like to comment on some of your statements which I feel are
somewhat incomplete and not totally accurate.

To begin with, your claim that "embryonic stem cells are critical to
life-saving research" has not yet been supported by any research, lab or
clinical.  Many experts feel that the promises of embryonic stem cells is
more hype and diverts attention from critical research on non-embryonic stem
cells.  You go on to say "This research could lead to cures for many
diseases, including...."  After more than a decade of intense research,
embryonic stem cells have not helped one single patient and in many cases
has caused more harm.  The only things that embryonic stem cell research has
yielded are tumors, rejection, mutations, production of wrong cell types,
and false hope.  Many leading stem cell researchers foresee decades of
concerted effort before embryonic stems can possibly hope to help anyone. 
Meanwhile, adult and cord blood stem cells have successfully treated over
ninety different diseases and disorders which have offered real results, not
hypothetical results, to tens of thousands of sick and disabled persons
today.  Within the same paragraph, you state that "these cells contained the
patient's DNA and therefore less likely to be rejected".  This is simply not
true.  I'm afraid what you are referring to are cells from embryos created
by cloning, a procedure that over 80% of the American people oppose.

In your next paragraph you say "Stem cells are derived from fertilized
eggs".  This is at best misleading.  Stem cells are not obtained from
fertized eggs but rather from five to seven day-old living human embryos
which must be disaggregated (ripped apart) in order to harvest their stem
cells.  A much more humane use for these "excess to be discarded eggs" would
be adoption as evidenced by the hundreds of embryos who have already escaped
their frozen prisons facilitated by organaizations such as the Snowflake
Adoption Program.

As for Senator Santorum's bill, The Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell
Enhancement Act, (S.2754), I again respectfully question your accuracy.  The
procedure ANT-OAR would actually produce embryo-like stem cells and not as
you claim "would, in effect, allow federal funding only on adult stem
cells."

In response to your statement that "adult stem cells do not have the same
scientific potential for development that embryonic stem cells have", I
would be more than happy to forward to you multiple sources which prove
otherwise.  Adult stem cells, in fact, have the same capacity as embryonic
stem cells to become any cells of the two hundred plus tissues in the human
body.  In addition, they are readily available from the patient's own body,
therefore preventing rejection, are very plentiful, and are stable in lab.

In conclusion, if we have two options of research, one which is not only
lethal but also non-productive and unethical, and another which is
non-lethal, ethical, and is producing positive results today, would it not
be in our best interest to choose the latter?  We only have a finite amount
of funding and scientists available for stem cell research.  It is critical
that all the funding and scientific knowledge be focused on the option
offering the most promise today and not the research which speculates on
results perhaps decades into the future.  I again plead with you to support
S.2754 and S.3504, and oppose S.471.  I realize that a change in your
position on S.471 would be very difficult, considering that you are a
cosponsor.  I pray that this correspondence and the Senate debates which are
to take place on July 17th will convince you that it is the right thing to
do.
The unfounded promises of embryonic stem cells is cruel to the desperate
needing help today,not decades from now.

Sincerely yours,

                     Dr. Daniel J. Pepin



From: senator_levin@levin.senate.gov
To: pepindan@>Subject: Re: Your Concerns
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:30:55 -0400


Dear Dr. Pepin:

       Thank you for contacting me about stem cell research.  I appreciate
hearing from you on this important issue.

       Embryonic stem cells are critical to life-saving research.
Researchers believe these cells have the potential to grow into any type of
cell in the human body and, when they possess the patient’s DNA, will
reduce the chance that the new cells will be rejected when implanted.  This
research could lead to cures for many diseases, including cancer, cystic
fibrosis, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease, as well as
such conditions as spinal cord injuries, liver damage, arthritis, and burns
       Stem cells can be derived from fertilized eggs that are currently
stored in freezers at in-vitro fertility clinics, which would not be used
for reproductive purposes and would otherwise be discarded.  Preventing
scientists from using these excess "to be discarded" eggs could deprive
many Americans of a chance to regain a healthy life.  Organizations such as
the American Medical Association, American Pediatric Society, National
Coalition for Cancer Research and the Society for Women’s Health Research
support stem cell research.

       I cosponsored the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.471), which
was introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) on February 28, 2005.
H.R.810, an identical bill, was passed by the House of Representatives by a
vote of 238-194 on May 24, 2005.  This bill would permit federal human
embryonic stem cell research if the embryonic stem cells meet certain
requirements, including that the embryonic stem cells were created for the
purpose of fertility treatment, but are in excess of the clinical need and
would be discarded if not used for stem cell research.  In addition,
H.R.810 would require written consent from the donor stating that she has
been adequately consulted and has not received any payment or other form of
compensation for the donation of the fertilized egg.
       Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced the Alternative Pluripotent
Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S.2754) on May 5, 2006.  This bill
would in effect allow federal research only on adult stem cells.  Adult
stem cells do not have the same scientific potential for development that
embryonic stem cells have.  The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006,
introduced by Senator Santorum on June 13, 2006, would make it illegal for
an individual to buy or sell fetal tissue solely created for medical
research purposes.

       The Senate has agreed by unanimous consent to consider all these
bills, S.471 (H.R.810), S.2754, and S.3504, during this session of
Congress.  The agreement provides for 12 hours of debate on the three
bills.  Under the agreement, 60 votes will be required for the passage of
any of the bills.  No amendments will be in order.

       Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely,
Carl Levin

 Patients said to offer stem-cell solution 'we can all live with'

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As the U.S. Senate prepared to consider competing proposals on the funding of stem-cell research, a representative of the U.S. bishops' pro-life office said the presence of four people on Capitol Hill showed that "there are solutions we can all live with."

Deirdre McQuade, director of planning and information in the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, participated in a June 20 press conference organized by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and featuring four patients who have been treated successfully for a variety of illnesses with adult stem cells or those from umbilical-cord blood.

The four were Jackie Rabon of Waverly, Ill., a paraplegic who received a successful treatment with adult stem cells; Ryan Schneider of Chicago, who received a cord-blood treatment for cerebral palsy; Abby Pell of the Washington area, who was treated with her own cord blood for brain damage she suffered at birth; and David Foege of Naples, Fla., who was successfully treated for heart failure with adult stem cells.

"We praise these patients and families for their courage, their persistence and their willingness to come to Washington to present how ethically sound stem-cell research is paving the road to treatments," McQuade said.

"No one should think that the stem-cell debate forces us to choose between ethics and science," she added. "We can support both. There is no need to sell our souls in the quest to heal our bodies."

At the press conference Brownback said the four told "absolutely phenomenal stories of successes" using adult stem cells or cord-blood stem cells. "We need to do more of this," he added.

The Kansas senator called for a full floor debate on bioethics issues when the Senate considers H.R. 810, the Stem-Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which he and the Catholic Church oppose.

"I want you to see where we're seeing successes without bioethical questions involved," he said at the press conference.

The House bill, approved on a 238-194 vote last year, would permit federal funding of stem-cell research involving the destruction of embryos, as long as the embryos were created for in vitro fertilization and later donated by the couples.

Brownback urged a Senate vote on S. 3504, the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006, co-sponsored by himself and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. The legislation would prohibit "the solicitation or acceptance of tissue from fetuses gestated for research purposes."

Another bill co-sponsored by Santorum, the Alternative Pluripotent Stem-Cell Therapies Enhancement Act, would increase federal funding of research into ways to derive pluripotent stem cells without destroying embryos.

A spokesman for Brownback said the Kansas senator had not taken a position on that legislation, which also is sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

At a June 15 briefing with scientists who are working on alternatives to embryonic stem-cell research, Santorum said the bill "is pro-scientific progress, pro-stem-cell research, and pro-cures for diseases, but does not compromise my commitment to protecting innocent embryonic life."

Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the bishops' pro-life secretariat, had expressed cautious approval last year for an experimental technique called "oocyte assisted reprogramming," aimed at creating cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells without ever producing or harming a human embryo.

"If animal trials show the technique to work as planned, and the eggs needed for the technique can be obtained in an ethical manner, it could provide a morally acceptable way to pursue biomedical research with these cells," he said.

Stem-cell research was a hot topic on Capitol Hill in mid-June, with the National Pro-Life Action Center also holding a briefing about scientific advances achieved with adult stem cells and umbilical-cord blood.

"To date, embryonic stem-cell research has failed to produce one successful treatment," said Paul Chaim Schenck, director of the center. "Conversely, adult and cord-blood stem-cell research has yielded over 65 successful treatments, including curing diabetes in some patients."

Schenck said the center opposes "so-called 'compromise bills'" such as the Santorum-Specter proposal because they "would not only set up an unnecessary slippery slope and be morally bankrupt, but from an investment perspective would be an act of gross negligence."

Bill Schneeberger, a Catholic from South Euclid, Ohio, has taken a novel approach to raising awareness about adult stem-cell research through the sale of Italian wines whose packaging carries information about the research. His company, Bogo Wines, also donates $2 from every case sold to organizations working to promote adult stem-cell research.

"I realized that no one was going to bat for these tiny frozen embryos," Schneeberger said in a statement. "Using babies as research tools is evil incarnate. This debate will determine how we view life for many future generations."

Bogo Wines and Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics hosted an event June 20 on Capitol Hill featuring wine tasting and testimonies by patients who have been helped by adult and cord-blood stem cells to treat spinal cord injury, heart disease, brain damage, cerebral palsy and other conditions.

McQuade and Doerflinger represented the pro-life secretariat at the event, called "A Toast to Adult and Cord-Blood Stem Cells: Helping Patients Now and in the Future."