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Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) Republican Conference Chairman Scientific research has yielded many of the great advances of our time. The invention and availability of vaccinations, antibiotics and biomedical technologies have completely altered the field of medicine and, ultimately, our quality of life. Often government has played a critical role in the success of that research, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a variety of other avenues. That is a role we need to continue to fulfill and even expand on, increasing our commitment to treating and curing the diseases and conditions that afflict so many in America and around the world. Right in Pennsylvania, we've seen some of the benefits of government involvement in scientific research with the development of effective new technologies that employ adult stem cells. Located at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Pittsburgh, the National Tissue Engineering Center conducts innovative programs in wound healing, musculoskeletal tissue engineering and cardiothoracic and vascular tissue engineering. In fact, they, with the assistance of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and myself, have put together such a robust program with respect to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine using adult stem cells that we have partnered with the Department of Defense, and the therapies that have been developed are being employed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas to treat our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Incredibly, there is one study under way right now to regenerate an ear of a soldier who was injured in the Iraq war. But there are times that science comes in direct conflict with the moral sensitivities of many American citizens, a foundation that has directed and served our nation well since its inception. At these times we must remember that science is not an ethics-free zone. We, as members of the United States Senate and the elected voice of the people, have an obligation to scrutinize, at least with taxpayer dollars, where that science goes. And in today's world, with the incredible technology available to us, there is no question that one can be pro-research, pro-science, pro-improving the quality of healthcare in this country and still respect the legitimate moral concerns of millions of Americans. The issue of embryonic-stem-cell research is fraught with strong passions and sharp disagreements. But this need not be the case. A commitment to curing disease, promoting scientific progress and respect for life are not mutually exclusive. Despite differing opinions on whether taxpayer dollars should be used to support stem-cell research that is dependent on the destruction of a human embryo, there is noncontroversial common ground on this issue. Finding that common ground is precisely what the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S. 2754), a bill that my Pennsylvania colleague, Senator Specter, and I put together, is all about. Scientists who lobby for the federal government to fund research on embryonic stem cells are pursuing what are called pluripotent stem cells (also known as embryonic-like), or stem cells with the potential to form all or almost all types of cells in the human body. It is thought that study of these cells will aid in the understanding and treatment of disease. But the scientific advances of recent years have made it more and more likely that scientists do not need to destroy an embryo to obtain pluripotent cells. A year ago, the President's Council on Bioethics issued a white paper reviewing several proposed ways of deriving pluripotent stem cells that are ethically noncontroversial. Since last year, there have been numerous reports of scientists potentially deriving embryonic-like stem cells in ways that have not required the destruction of a human embryo, using a variety of sources of cells, both animal and human. A bill I am proposing, S. 2754 looks to build upon the successes of these scientists by mandating that the NIH direct resources toward the ethical derivation of stem cells that have the capability of producing all or almost all of the cell types of the developing body. My bill directs the NIH to fund more research on deriving these cells from sources other than human embryos. This will result in more scientists doing innovative work and coming up with ethical answers to disease and injury. What this bill does is provide an alternative path to get to where those who want to see embryonic stem cell research move forward want to be; flush with pluripotent stem cells available for research that has the potential to truly change our world. But instead of taking a road that raises great moral concerns among a large portion of Americans -- a recent poll indicates that 48 percent of Americans oppose using federal tax dollars to fund research that destroys an embryo in its first week of development -- we try to get them there through ethical means. My colleagues in the Senate recognize the importance of this bill and the potential good it represents. When S. 2754 came up for a vote last Tuesday, it passed unanimously. It is astounding that members of the House of Representatives, members who assert themselves to be supporters of stem cell research, elected to block its passage. They claim to be on the side of science and curing disease, yet when the opportunity presents itself to support that claim and take constructive action on stem-cell research, they proved that above all they are on the side of unadulterated politics. This legislation is morally unobjectionable, destroys no life and has the potential to benefit millions. The Senate has passed it, and did so with a singular, powerful voice. The president has committed to sign it. Now it is time for those in the House who voted against this legislation to back up their rhetoric, to truly be pro-research, pro-science, pro-improving the quality of healthcare in this country, and pass this bill. Senator Rick Santorum is a member of the Health Care Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee. CapNews Guest Speaker: Archives |
