Senate debates stem cells

WASHINGTON — As the Senate launched an emotional debate Monday into the possibility of expanding embryonic stem-cell research, the White House issued an unusual defense of its policy to fund only a limited amount of research.

The debate pits those banking on the promise of medical advances against those troubled by the ethics and morality of destroying embryos in the name of science.

President Bush has promised to issue the first veto of his presidency this week if the Senate passes legislation to lift restrictions he put in place in 2001, limiting research to stem-cell lines derived before his Aug. 9 executive order.

In a statement called "Setting the Record Straight," the White House insisted Monday that federally funded embryonic stem-cell lines are widely available to scientists, contrary to complaints leveled by advocates for more research.

"The NIH [National Institutes of Health] has sent more than 700 shipments of cells to researchers, and has thousands more available upon request," the statement said, adding that "85 percent of all the human embryonic stem cell science done in the world has been done with the lines now approved for funding by the NIH."

But advocates for the research, who believe it could lead to treatments and cures for everything from spinal-cord injuries to Alzheimer's disease, say there are few stem-cell lines available for research, and they contend that many have been contaminated by mouse cells and are unusable for human therapies.

"Over the last five years, we've learned that, while it was widely believed 78 embryonic stem-cell lines would be available for federal funding, that has proven not to be the case," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

"Today, only 22 lines are eligible. Moreover, those lines are starting to become less stable and less replicative than initially thought. While human embryonic stem-cell research is still at a very early stage, the limitations put in place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases."

The White House also insisted that the existing stem-cell lines are not contaminated and are widely used by researchers.

The legislation being considered would allow scientists to conduct federally funded research on embryos that would have been destroyed anyway through the in-vitro fertilization process. The House has already passed the bill, and Senate approval would send it directly to the White House. Advocates expect more than 60 senators to support the legislation, the number required for the bill to clear the Senate.

The Senate also is considering two other bills. One would promote research that does not include the creation or destruction of embryos, something already allowed under current law. And another would prohibit growing embryos for the sole purpose of harvesting tissue.

The start of the debate was marked by a parade of advocates who are directly affected by what happens this week.

For example, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who opposes research using embryos, introduced three "snowflake" children who began life as frozen embryos and were adopted by people who were not their biological parents. Those children and their parents urged Congress not to allow the destruction of embryos.

"It is immoral to destroy the youngest of human lives for research purposes. We don't need to do it," said Brownback, urging the continued research into blood-cord and adult-stem cells.

At a press conference for senators hoping to expand stem-cell research, the room was filled with people in wheelchairs, children with juvenile diabetes and others with diseases such as Parkinson's.

"The debate on embryonic stem-cell research is as important as any effort, any issue which has ever been before the United States Senate," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a leading proponent of the bill, who noted that his own struggle with Hodgkin's disease might have been eased if the research had advanced more quickly.