Heated debate as stem cell bill opens

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Adding fuel to the House debate was the announcement last week by South Korean researchers who, funded by their government, produced human embryos through cloning and then extracted their stem cells — a major advancement in the quest to grow patients’ own replacement tissue to treat diseases.

House GOP leaders planned to offer the Smith-Davis bill first on the House floor Tuesday as an alternative to the Castle-DeGette bill, which was scheduled for a vote later in the day.

Sponsors of both bills said the two were compatible.

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“There will be a number of members who will vote for both of these bills,” Davis said.

A day ahead of the floor action, supporters and opponents of the legislation gathered people with personal experience with stem cell research to tell their stories.

Penn, of Atlanta, said sickle cell anemia caused a stroke when he was 5. Treatment for the disease was so painful that he said he contemplated suicide four years later. Doctors predicted he would not live to adulthood, but because of the transplant, he turns 19 in two weeks.

“If it wasn’t for cord blood, I’d probably be dead by now,” he said.

On Tuesday, dozens of parents of babies they adopted as embryos are expected to appear on Capitol Hill and in the Rose Garden with Bush to oppose the Castle-DeGette bill. They particularly object to its premise that embryonic stem cell research makes use of fertilized eggs that would otherwise be discarded.

“We believe frozen embryos are pre-born children who deserve a chance to be born,” say one couple expected Tuesday, J.J. and Tracy Jones of Houston, who “adopted” their month-old son Trey as an embryo.

Castle and DeGette said they expect their bill to soon be considered by the Senate. If it passes both houses, they said, perhaps the White House would reconsider its opposition. Either way, Castle said, the discussion has inspired “a lot more interest in this issue.”

“And that’s not going to go away,” added Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., another co-sponsor.

Blood saved from newborns’ umbilical cords is rich in a type of stem cells that produce blood, the same kind that make up bone-marrow transplants. The Institute of Medicine recently estimated that cord blood could help treat about 11,700 Americans a year with leukemia and other devastating diseases, yet most is routinely discarded.

In contrast, the second bill deals with embryonic stem cells, which are the building blocks for every tissue in the body. Attempting to harness those stem cells’ regenerative powers is in very early research stages, but many scientists believe it has the potential to one day create breakthrough treatments.

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