Hope Offered Through Principled And Ethical Stem Cell Research Act--Continued--
Floor Speech
HOPE OFFERED THROUGH PRINCIPLED AND ETHICAL STEM CELL RESEARCH ACT--Continued -- (Senate - April 11, 2007)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the emotional, divisive, and often confusing issue of stem cell research. Let me start by expressing why I believe we should focus our scarce resources on adult and umbilical cord stem cells rather than on embryonic stem cells.
Given the tremendous results that have come from adult and umbilical cord stem cell therapy in the areas of oncology and orthopedics--and, more recently, in cardiology and neurology--I am further encouraged by the possibilities these noncontroversial, adult stem cells have to offer. In this tight budgetary environment, in which there is a choke hold on our domestic discretionary spending, we must be vigilant in the way we appropriate taxpayer dollars and concentrate our resources on those lines of medical research that hold the greatest potential.
Furthermore, in recent years, scientists have made tremendous strides in designing methods to obtain fully pluripotent stem cells that have the flexibility of embryonic stem cells, while avoiding the destruction of human embryos. The potential to extract these versatile stem cells in an ethically sound manner, coupled with my interest in seeing further research in the area of adult and umbilical cord stem cells, is why I rise to support S. 30, the HOPE Act.
Before I delve into a discussion of the two bills this body is considering, let me clarify that there are two different categories of stem cells--and, thus, of stem cell research. The first, embryonic stem cells--as their name suggests--are derived from human embryos developed from eggs that have been fertilized at an in vitro fertilization clinic. Alternatively, adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found among differentiated cells in tissues or organs. These cells can renew themselves and eventually develop into a specific cell in the body. What is notable, however, is that these undifferentiated adult stem cells can be gathered by scientists without any harm to the individual donor.
Umbilical cord blood derived from a mother's placenta following the birth of a newborn baby is now also included in this category of adult stem cells. In fact, with the arrival of my seventh grandchild, I learned a great deal about the benefits of preserving cord blood stem cells. What at one time was considered medical waste and discarded after birth is now recognized as a rich supply of stem cells and has been used to treat a number of blood and immune-system diseases, cancers, and other physical disorders.
I was introduced to the promise of adult and umbilical stem cell research by experts at the National Center for Regenerative Medicine in my hometown of Cleveland, OH. Several institutions make up the center, including Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Athersys, Inc., and the Ohio State University. Together they have created an outstanding medical facility that is leading the Nation in the use of nonembryonic stem cells to regenerate new tissues in diseased organs rather than using drugs or devices to improve the function of the organs.
Since 1976, researchers at the center have been studying nonembryonic stem cells, and they performed their first stem cell transplant as early as 1980. Today, the center is capable of conducting clinical trials with cord blood stem cells for gene therapy and for heart and blood vessel repair. Investigators at the center are now able to cure leukemia and lymphomas with nonembryonic stem cell transplantation, as well as repair unstable bone fractures and treat genetic disorders.
I have had the chance to meet several patients whose lives have been transformed by this new medicine. Elisabeth, who was a patient at the National Center, was in a motorcycle accident and had compound fractures in her right femur and right tibia. Even though she was rushed into emergency surgery after the accident, her bones did not heal properly, and she was told she would never walk again. Elisabeth sought out a second opinion from a doctor at the National Center who operated a second time, using some of his adult stem cell gel. This gel takes on the characteristics of the surrounding bone cells and helps with the healing of broken bones. I am happy to report, Elisabeth is now walking, living a healthy life, and pursuing a future in physical therapy at the Ohio State University.
Elisabeth is not alone.
I recently visited the National Center for Regenerative Medicine, and I had the chance to meet Ashley. Ashley is 8 years old and was successfully treated for her leukemia at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital of University Hospitals Case Medical Center. She was first diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia, ALL, in January 2006, and she underwent a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor in June 2006. But since her transplant, Ashley has done wonderfully.
Even more encouraging is the potential for scientists to leverage all this great medicine into new fields, including cardiology and neuroscience. Researchers at the National Center for Regenerative Medicine are hopeful that in the not so distant future they will make inroads in the treatment of degenerative arthritis, will decrease the severity of graft versus host disease after stem cell transplantation, and will allow physicians to use a patient's own stem cells to repair heart damage following congestive heart failure, as
well as use their own neural stem cells to improve function after spinal cord damage.
I am concerned, however, that not enough Americans are aware that some of the most advanced medicine today can be attributed to adult--and not embryonic--stem cells. What I find even more disturbing is that many supporters of embryonic stem cell research have been kept in the dark about the advances of umbilical and adult stem cell treatments and have been over-sold on embryonic stem cell research, which is still in its infancy.
I want to remind my colleagues who support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act that embryonic cells have not been successfully used to treat even one disease yet I have had the opportunity to meet numerous people whose lives have been saved by adult stem cell therapy. In fact, adult stem cells have been used to treat 72 diseases, including breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord injuries, and others. That is why I continue to be encouraged by the possibilities adult stem cells have to offer.
In recent years, medical research has made tremendous strides, and it is now widely believed that new technology can lead to methods of obtaining fully pluripotent stem cells that have the flexibility of embryonic stem cells without destroying potential life. That is why I rise today to support S. 30, the HOPE Act.
Despite all this progress, scientists around the world agree that there is still a great deal that remains unknown about the potential for stem cell therapy. That is why I support this legislation introduced by my colleagues from Minnesota and Georgia that can help us tap even more potential cures and therapies.
The HOPE Act would continue to encourage Federal research on adult and umbilical cord stem cell therapies that are already proving successful, while requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop techniques to identify and derive pluripotent stem cells that have the flexibility of embryonic stem cells without destroying a human embryo. There is evidence that these alternative methods may make it easier for scientists to genetically match patients with therapies and could reduce the complications, like tumor formation, that have been seen with embryonic stem cells.
The HOPE Act would also require the Secretary to prioritize stem cell research that will reap near-term clinical benefit and take into account the findings of the President's Council on Bioethics along with other appropriate techniques and research. It is my hope that this type of progress will help eliminate the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research without any compromise of scientific advancement. This legislation paves a path forward for Federal scientists, while respecting the principles and morals of millions of taxpayers.
I believe it is my moral responsibility to direct the Federal Government's dollars toward research that has the greatest near-term potential to help the largest number of Americans.
Over the past several years, Congress has increased total NIH funding for medical research--including increasing the amount of money available for stem cell research--from $15.1 billion in fiscal year 1999 to $28.9 billion in 2007. However, in recent years the cost of fighting the war in Iraq, defending our homeland, and protecting against natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina has left very few resources for domestic discretionary spending. In fact, today, the Federal Government spends only one-sixth of its annual budget on nondefense discretionary spending, and I am afraid that exploding entitlement spending threatens to soak up every Federal dollar, leaving no revenue for things like scientific research. There is a tremendous need to pursue treatments for many diseases, but we face a reality of limited funding.
We have to be smart about spending our money. In the current budget environment, I have concerns that increasing funding for research on embryonic stem cells will take away opportunities for research in areas like adult and umbilical research that has proven its ability to save human lives--or even for new techniques to help us remove pluripotent stem cells without destroying human embryos.
I have the greatest sympathy for patients and their families who continue to struggle with a wide range of fatal diseases. I understand what it is like to watch a loved one suffer and the tragedy of losing a member of your family--especially a young child. I lost my father to diabetes and my young nephew C.T.--who was only 14--to bone cancer. Like many here today, I have been a witness to the devastating effects of Alzheimer's, arthritis, and many other debilitating diseases. That is why I am sympathetic with my colleagues' efforts to seek out a panacea. But I fear that too often proponents of embryonic stem cell research make exaggerated claims about this line of research and offer false promises when the evidence is just not there.
I read a great op-ed in The Washington Post by Charles Krauthammer--who has long supported legal abortions and doesn't believe that life begins at conception--in which he issued a stern warning against pursuing embryonic stem cell research. As he said, he has a very healthy respect for ``the human capacity for doing evil in pursuit of good.'' And, that is exactly what I see happening in this Chamber today. Too many of my colleagues are focused exclusively on embryonic stem cell research, and they are missing potential that is right under their noses.
I am reminded of Aesop's fable, ``The Stag at the Pool,'' in which a stag stops at a spring to drink some water. He looks down at his shadow reflected in the water and greatly admires the size and shape of his beautiful horns, all the while thinking that his feet are too slender and too weak. Just as he is looking at his reflection, a lion appears at the pond. The stag sees the lion in the water and runs as fast as he can to safety. As he enters the woods, though, his horns get tangled in the tree branches, and the lion catches up to him. Finally, at that moment, the stag realizes that it was his feet that could have saved him and his antlers that led to his demise.
The moral of the story is: What is most truly valuable is often underrated. I think the same is true on the subject of stem cell research. We have been so focused on what we perceive to be the future of medical research that we have been willing to overlook successful treatments and therapies that are already taking place right under our noses.
In light of all the advances and results science has provided with adult and umbilical cord stem cells, I urge my colleagues to direct Federal funding toward research that will have the greatest near-term impact on human life.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source