NEWS: BBC: Experts back embryo research

[janet paterson <janet313@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Experts back embryo research

Thursday, 6 April, 2000, 01:46 GMT 02:46 UK - An influential panel of 
scientists has said that cloning embryos to use their cells for medical 
research should be allowed.

But while the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says that the use of embryo "stem 
cells" to develop medical treatments is acceptable, it insists cloned babies 
should not be allowed.

The council has rejected claims by a prominent pro-life peer that its advice is 
flawed because the body is packed with experts who are biased towards such 
research.

But its conclusions are bound to create a ethical storm.

The government's own advisory body is due to present its verdict on the 
research. If it reaches similar conclusions, this potentially paves the way for 
legalisation.

Scientists want to harvest "stem cells" from cloned embryos.

All the tissues and organs of the body originate from stem cells. These are 
cells are immature cells which go on to develop into different types of human 
cell needed.

A supply of stem cells would allow scientists to go on to recreate any type of 
human cell in a laboratory, which could then be used for research.

Treatment boost

Parkinson's disease, stroke and rheumatoid arthritis are just a few conditions 
which researchers claim might receive a boost from stem cell research.

However, ethics campaigners say that creating an embryo simply for experimental 
purposes is wrong.

But the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent body which looks at the 
ethical issues raised by medical advances, reported that the potential medical 
benefits meant that stem cell research should be licensed.

Dr Sandy Thomas, its director, said: "The scope of stem cell research promises 
major advances in healthcare.

"Cells and tissues could be developed and used for drug testing, and new 
therapies culd become available for people suffering from burns and spinal 
injury, as well as for diseases such as leukaemia and multiple sclerosis."

The Parkinson's Disease Society is delighted by the report.

A spokesman said: "Parkinson's can have a devastating impact upon someone's 
life. Therapeutic cloning techniques may provide an effective treatment for 
Parkinson's in the future."

Strong opposition

However, some groups are strongly opposed to the idea of taking stem cells from 
human embryos.

A spokesman for the Comment on Reproductive Ethics said: "Vague mention of 
respect for the embryo is the ultimate hypocrisy - embryos are destroyed by 
therapeutic cloning."

She added that science had now made possible the harvest of stem cells from 
adults - rendering the cloning of embryos unneccessary.

The council has also been hit by the accusation, from Lord Alton, a prominent 
pro-life campaigner, that committees evaluating the ethics of embryo research 
were unbalanced.

"Scientists who may be commercially as well as academically involved in genetic 
research, tame philosophers and token 'religious' pundits, who all think the 
same way, occasional media names and even members of the Eugenics Society 
hardly constitute balance," he wrote in a letter to the Daily Telegraph.

Dr Thomas denied this. "I am not aware of any evidence to support this 
statement. The committee comes to these things with an open mind."

And a Department of Health spokesman said that ministers had confidence that 
their advisory committee was free of bias.


BBC News Online: Health


janet paterson
53 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
a new voice: 
613 256 8340 PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario Canada K0A 1A0