Adult Stem Cells Embryonic Stem Cells Success against brain cancers True False Success against other cancers True False Success against multiple sclerosis True False Success against Crohn’s disease True False Success against rheumatoid arthritis True False Success against sickle cell anemia True False Success against stroke True False Success against limb gangrene True False Success for corneal regeneration True False Success against heart damage True False Success against Parkinson’s disease True False Success against spinal cord injury True False Success against limb gangrene True False Have been used to treat one or more people True False Grow uncontrollably in humans causing tumors False True Requires a human to die so someone else can use that person’s stem cells False True Not proven to have any potential benefit False True Bears the problem of transplant rejection False True Based on information supplied by Wisconsin Right to Life and Dr. David A. Prentice Stem Cell Research   Fact #1  Under President Clinton there was no ban on stem cell research   Fact #2  Under President Bush, there is no ban on stem cell research   Fact #3   Under President Clinton, there was no federal financing of stem cell research   Fact #4  Under President Bush, there are several millions given by the federal government for stem cell research but the amount spent of fetal stem cell research (that is, research on living pre-born infants) is limited to those research projects that are already under way, No new fetal stem cell research will be financed by the federal government.  There is no ban on research that is privately funded.    Fact #5 Fetal stem cell research has not been as promising as other stem cell research and only accounts for about 1% of all stem cell research.   Fact #6 An embryo is a baby.  A fetus is a baby.   Embryonic stem cell research is research on a fetus.  The word 'fetus' means 'little one' in Italian   Fact #7  President Bush did not allow any Federal funds to be diverted to promote additional killing beyond the embryonic (baby-derived) stem cells that were already in existence.  Those lines of stem cells that were already in existence came into being by killing a baby, but those babies had already been killed.     Fact #8  The University of Wisconsin is the source of most fetal stem cell research and the researchers there are very pleased that they are getting federal money to help with their research.   Fact #9  Money taken to support embryonic (baby-derived) stem cell research will take away money for research of the kind of stem cells that have proven that they help.  There is no indication at all that embryonic (baby-derived) stem cells will ever be a viable means of treatment for anything.   Fact #10 If there were hope of having a medical breakthrough using embryonic stem cell research, the drug companies would be investing heavily in it.   Fact #11 The whole issue is that the liberals are saying that they should be able to take one person’s life to enhance another person’s life.  That is what Kerry is pushing for.  That is what Kerry was using Christopher Reeve to push for.  If the liberals want to kill the defenseless in order to extend their own lives, there is another proven way to do this.  If they could get enough political power, they could take certain classes of citizens that they don’t like, such as Christians and Jews, and harvest their organs as liberals need them.    http://www.news-medical.net/?id=3161 Our traditional friends, like Ireland, and our current friends, such as Austria and Germany, ban even the private sector from creating embryos for stem-cell research.  The liberals and greedy in the bio-tech industry would not place such a ban, and would demand that the federal government -- our tax dollars -- provide corporate welfare to pay for the destruction of embryonic life. The latest study comes from the University of Minnesota, where researchers have found that adult stem cells from bone marrow can turn into virtually every single tissue in the body, from muscle to nerve to blood. The study, published Thursday in the journal "Nature," suggests that these multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) found in the bone marrow of rats and could be just as versatile as those from embryos - a point long disputed by proponents of embryonic research. Moreover, Prof. Catherine Verfaillie said she and her colleagues had not found any evidence so far that the adult cells could grow into tumors, which is a concern with embryonic stem cells. CNSNews.com "These fantastic findings indicate that adult stem cells are as versatile as embryo stem cells and that, unlike embryo stem cells, they will not cause cancer," said Dr. Amin Abboud, director of Australasian Bioethics Information. Abboud, who lectures in medical ethics at a Sydney university, said the study showed that "we can use the resources of the human body to cure itself without having to kill embryos." Abboud also accused embryonic stem cell advocates of keeping "under wraps" the propensity of embryonic cells to produce cancerous tumors called teratomas. Research at the Harvard Medical School published last January suggested that embryonic stem cells from rats could change into cells that produce dopamine, a chemical needed by Parkinson's patients. But in 20 percent of the rats used in the experiment, the cells reportedly instead formed a teratoma. In humans, such a result would be devastating, according to experts, as many teratomas are inoperable. Profit agenda Another group that has lobbied against embryonic research is the Australian Family Association. AFA national vice president Bill Muehlenberg said Friday many of those advocating the controversial research were motivated by the promise of financial gain. "Science has given way to other agendas of Big Biotech, and many political leaders are being duped in the process," he said. "It is time for real science to set the agenda, not the profit-driven motives of Big Biotech and the pharmaceuticals." Both Muehlenberg and Abboud argued that while the ability of adult stem cells to treat diseases was repeatedly being tested and proven, the potential of embryonic cells to do likewise remained unknown. The AFA sees the way the debate has gone in Australia as a sign of the decline of ethics in Western societies. "When we fought the battle on IVF two decades ago, we warned that this was the thin edge of the wedge," Muehlenberg said. "It seems that we have not seen the last of the moral erosion enfolding before our eyes." Experimentation on Embryos to Continue Despite 'Adult' Stem Cell Breakthrough in Australia CNSNews.com  federal minister Eric Abetz, noted recent reports about breakthroughs in the use of stem cells from non-embryonic sources, known as "adult" stem cells. "By contrast, there has not been a single scientific success in the field of embryonic stem cell research," he was quoted as saying Monday. "It is my personal belief that scientists should concentrate their efforts on adult stem cell research, which has shown very promising results, and abandon embryonic stem cell research, which involves the destruction of, and experimentation on, human life." CNSNews.com "These adult olfactory stem cells appear to have the same ability as embryonic stem cells in giving rise to many different cell types but have the advantage that they can be obtained from all individuals, even older people who might be most in need of stem cell therapies," he said. Mackay-Sim noted that when stem cells were transplanted into the person they had come from in the first place, the problem of immune system rejection was avoided. It was also very simple to extract the cells from the nose and relatively easy to grow and multiply them, he said. CNSNews.com Congress Should Stop Bad Science Last week reports circulated that House Republican leaders have agreed to allow a vote on a bill that would overturn President Bush's policy on embryonic stem cell research. The bill would provide federal funding for the destruction of human embryos. Unfortunately, because of the misinformation and downright lies that color the debate over stem cell research there may not be enough votes to stop such a bill. The hope is that whether from principled leadership by President Bush and congressional leadership or from successful efforts to educate members of Congress, enough minds can be changed to defeat the bill by the time it reaches the floor. While liberals criticize the current policy as uncompassionate, the international community has adopted it as good ethics, and the free market is increasingly recognizing the real potential of adult stem cell research. The result has been the directing of private funds away from the killing of human life to the effective and ethical science of adult stem cell research. If members of Congress really want to provide cures, the limited pool of taxpayers' dollars should be given to research with adult stem cells. Good science and human life should not be sacrificed for political gain or personal profit.  The Family Research Council In Maryland, as in other states, false hopes of nonexistent cures for numerous diseases were hung on embryonic stem cell research, while productive and ethical adult stem cell research was generally ignored. In Washington State, a similar bill was defeated. The Washington State bill tried to draw a distinction between different forms of cloning but pro-life forces in the state were able to show there is little, if no, difference. In Texas, numerous pieces of legislation are moving through the legislature, either to promote or stop embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells are not only unethical but have also produced no viable treatments or cures. If state legislatures are dead set on investing valuable taxpayers' dollars they should look at adult stem cells and other research that has already provided beneficial results.  The Family Research Council   More and more frequently medical breakthroughs are made with adult stem cell research--success that has conspicuously eluded embryonic stem cell treatments. Perhaps Senator Specter is unaware that adult stem cell clinical trials are currently being conducted treating Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A search at http://clinicaltrials.gov shows 21 current clinical trials using adult stem cells (bone marrow, peripheral blood and cord blood) for treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Tony Perkins, 2005