Hoekstra Again Votes Against Expanding Federally Funded Research on Embryonic Stem Cells

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Hoekstra Again Votes Against Expanding Federally Funded Research on Embryonic Stem Cells

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, again voted against legislation that would expand federally funded research on embryonic stem cells.

"Embryonic stem cell research is the only method for such research that requires the destruction of human life when so many alternatives exist," Hoekstra said. "We ought to focus our efforts on the areas in which there is widespread agreement as opposed to the single area where people disagree."

Government-financed research is permitted only on embryonic stem cell lines developed before Aug. 9, 2001. The research requires the extraction of stem cells from days-old embryos, which are destroyed in the process.

More than 70 adult stem cell treatments, including umbilical cord blood stem cell research, have been found to treat a wide range of diseases and injuries. Adult stem cells found in umbilical cord blood have already helped lead to new cures and treatments for dozens of diseases, including Leukemia and Sickle Cell Anemia.

Similarly, research has identified non-embryonic stem cells contained in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women that features many of the same therapeutic capabilities of embryonic stem cells. Also, it was announced yesterday that three scientific teams from MIT, Kyoto University and Harvard University developed a technique using skin cells from mice that act like embryonic stem cells. The scientific breakthrough may lead researchers to bypass the need for continued research on embryonic stem cells.

"Human life at any stage of development should be given the opportunity to survive and at no point destroyed through scientific endeavors," Hoekstra said. "The scientific ends embryonic stem cell research intends to achieve can be advanced through measures that preserve and protect the unborn."

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