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ASRM BULLETIN
Volume 3, Number 16
July 20,
2001
This Week in the Stem Cell and Cloning Debates
Stem Cells
It has been another busy week in
the stem cell debates in the nation’s capitol. On Tuesday, there was a
hearing in the House on stem cell research. Much of the testimony was
negative. Among the witnesses were the parents of a set of twins who had
been born following an embryo donation. Led by ardent right-to-life
Congressman Chris Smith (R- NJ) the twins were used to show that frozen
embryos could become children and therefore using embryos for research
purposes was taking a life.
Prior to the hearing, there were
dueling press conferences. The pro-stem cell side featured several
prominent members of Congress and children suffering from diseases that
could be helped by stem cell research.
On Wednesday, the action
moved over to the Senate side for a stem cell hearing. The big news on
Wednesday was the release of a long-awaited NIH report on the
possibilities of future benefits from embryonic stem cell research. The
report makes it clear that there is great potential in embryonic stem
cells. (the report is available at http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/index.htm)
The
other big news on Wednesday was the announcement from Senator Bill Frist
(R-TN) that he supported federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Senator Frist was a heart surgeon prior to his political career, and is
very close to President Bush. Frist released a 10 point plan, which
included no federal funding for derivation of embryonic stem cell lines, a
limit to the number of lines created and making illegal all forms of
cloning and the creation of embryos for research purposes. ASRM obviously
welcomes Senator Frist’s support for stem cell research, but has some
concerns about his proposed conditions.
These two events
overshadowed the appearance of two ASRM members at the hearing. William
Gibbons, MD and Susan Lanzendorf, PhD from the Jones Institute at EVMS
were invited to testify about their work using donor gametes to begin
embryonic stem cell lines. They provided informative statements at the
hearing, but most of the attention centered on the NIH report and Senator
Frist’s announcement.
The media coverage was extensive this week.
Several web portals have now dedicated sections of their web sites to the
stem cell issue. Including:
Yahoo/Reuters http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Science/Stem_Cell_Research/
Time
Magazine http://www.time.com/time/2001/stemcells/
PBS/NewHour
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/stemcells.htm
Cloning
The
House is continuing its work on cloning legislation. Yesterday, the Crime
subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee approved a new version of
the Weldon bill. Now numbered HR 2505, this overly broad bill would
prohibit any use of cloning technology in humans, even those not for
reproductive purposes.
It is expected that both the Weldon bill and
the Greenwood bill will be dealt with in committee next week. There has
been talk of floor action before Congress leaves for August recess, but
that is unlikely. ASRM has supported the Greenwood bill (currently HR
2172, but a new version is expected out next week) which would make human
reproductive cloning illegal, but allow research or therapeutic uses of
somatic cell nuclear transfer.
The National Academy of Sciences is
working on a cloning report and is having an information gathering meeting
on August 7 in Washington DC. They have asked us forward their invitation
to subscribers to the ASRM Bulletin. The letter follows:
Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Cloning
The questions surrounding human
cloning are controversial and growing more complicated, especially as
animal-cloning efforts move forward. The nation needs a clear, unbiased
examination of the state of the science in this area as lawmakers and the
public grapple with public policy and ethical issues. A joint panel of the
National Academies' Committee on Science,
Engineering, and Public
Policy and the Board on Life Sciences has undertaken a study to review the
relevant scientific and medical research on human cloning as well as
closely related issues regarding scientific and medical ethics. As part of
its work, the committee will conduct an
information-gathering meeting
on August 7.
Because of confusion outside the scientific community
concerning the differences between human cloning and embryonic stem-cell
research, the study also will explain the distinctions between these two
endeavors. It will assess the current status of animal cloning, including
outcomes of
previous trials; whether knowledge of assisted reproductive
technologies can be applied to cloning a human; criteria that should be
used to evaluate the safety of human cloning; and public policy issues,
including responsible conduct of research. The panel will recommend a
process for
evaluating future research and address whether there should
be a moratorium on human cloning.
At its workshop on August 7,
2001, the panel will gather information from experts in the field on the
following issues:
-
The scientific issues underlying animal models of cloned versus normal embryonic and fetal development;
-
The actual outcomes of animal cloning with consideration of possible complications;
-
The considerable experience of human assisted reproductive technologies (such as in vitro fertilization);
-
The criteria that should be used to evaluate the safety of reproductive cloning for mother and the cloned offspring;
-
Responsible conduct of research as well as the protection of human participants (mother, child) in human cloning attempts;
-
Human cloning and public policy.
All are welcome to attend this
event either in person or via Webcast. More information on the study and
the workshop including an agenda is available at http://national-academies.org/humancloning.
Because
the purpose of the workshop is for the panel to gather information to help
it respond to its charge, the panel needs to hear from as many speakers as
possible and discuss key issues with those speakers. Since the time period
to do this is very limited, questions will only be asked by the panel
members and other speakers. Members of the public and press who attend the
workshop either in person or via the audio Webcast will not be provided
the opportunity to ask questions at the workshop; however, all are welcome
to submit comments to the panel, including suggestions for panel questions
for the speakers, no later than August 1.
Date:
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
Time: 8:30
a.m.
Location: National Academy of Sciences Building, 2101
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Direct taxis to 2100 C Street,
NW.
Room: Auditorium
Registration: There is no
cost for registration. However, you must register by August 1st for both
the workshop and the Webcast. You may do so by visiting the study’s Web
site at
http://national-academies.org/humancloning.
More details on how to participate in the Webcast are also located at this
site.
THE ASRM Bulletin is a publication of the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Office of Public Affairs. It is
intended as an information resource for our members, and should not be
quoted or cited without the expressed permission of ASRM. For questions or
comments call 202-863-4985 or email asrm-dc@asrm.org
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