Embryonic Research, a Tough "Cell" for New Leadership

New research from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine may pose a substantial threat to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) "100 Hours" agenda. According to reports, scientists there have discovered yet another alternative to embryonic stem cell research (ESC) that increases the promise of treatment without destroying human life. Stem cells found in the rich amniotic fluid that sustains a baby in the womb have the ability to grow into brain, muscle, and other tissues to fight and treat disease. Not only does the research lack the controversy of ESC, but it also hasn't generated the tumors that have so often been the result of embryonic experimentation.

The news should deliver a crippling blow to the agenda of House Democrats, who hope to pass legislation that directs more taxpayer dollars to ESC as one of the hallmarks of their leadership. Regrettably, politicians have used embryos as a political football, endorsing science that has done far more harm to life than good to patients. As viable and ethical alternatives to destructive embryonic stem cell research grow, so too should opposition on Capitol Hill to taxpayer- funded research that destroys human embryos.

As we continue to meet with House members this week, our goal is to hold them accountable to fund only methods that don't jeopardize human life. And, as science would have it, these ethical methods are the techniques producing results. Last week, the new House leadership talked a lot about ethics. If they truly care about setting ethical standards, then they should abandon their quest to subsidize unethical research and concentrate on research that cures without killing.

(Family Research Council; Tony Perkins' Washington Update; Jan. 8, 2007)