There are two sources for stem cells - adult and embyro.
"Adult" stem cells can come from a newborn, child or adult, even the patient's own body.
Their use does not kill anyone and so is completely ethical. Many cures have already been attributed  to use of adult stem cells.
So far, all the "claims" made for use of embryonic stem cells are at best overpublicised "promises", hoped for results that have not been achieved.

Embryonic stem cells are cell tissue extracted from human embryos. These cells can then be teased into providing an endless supply of healthy cells for unhealthy organs. The cells have been 'convinced' by researchers to grow into nerve cells, skin cells, heart cells - in fact potentially all 210 kinds of human cells can be grown from foetal stem cells. Sources of these are: from abandoned embryos in IVF clinics, and 5-9 week old aborted foetuses. It is not right for big humans to cannibalise parts of weak little humans to benefit themselves. It must be remembered that stem cell extraction kills the embryo the cells come from or is a direct side-product of abortion! Embryos are being used as sub-human commodities, as disposable laboratory material, corrupting our respect for human life. It was wrong to produce so many excess IVF frozen embryos, and using them is no better than the Nazi experiments on people who were "going to die anyway".
Embryonic stem cell extraction is the same as removing organs from someone killed for the express purpose of harvesting their body parts - an act that is intrinsically evil, regardless of the intent to do good to someone else as a result.

"Embryonic stem cells cannot be used directly. They are likely to be rejected, and have been shown to be prone to produce tumours. Transplanting incompletely differentiated cells runs the serious risk of introducing cells with abnormal properties into patients. This is of particular concern in light of the enormous tumor–forming potential of embryonic stem cells. If only one out of a million transplanted cells somehow failed to receive the correct signals for differentiation, patients could be given a small number of fully undifferentiated embryonic stem cells as part of a therapeutic treatment. Even in very small numbers, embryonic stem cells produce teratomas, rapid growing and frequently lethal tumors. (Indeed, formation of such tumors in animals is one of the scientific assays for the "multipotency" of embryonic stem cells.) No currently available level of quality control would be sufficient to guarantee that we could prevent this very real and horrific possibility."
 "The Basics About Stem Cells" by Maureen L. Condic  First Things 119 (January 2002): 30-34.
Quote on experiments on embryos by Geneticist Jerome Lejeune:
"To accept the fact that after fertilisation has taken place, a new human being comes into being, is no longer a matter of taste or of opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence...Why we should not experiment on human beings is very simple: from all the genetic laws that we have tried to summarise, we are entirely convinced that every embryo is, by itself, a human being...I am a doctor. I have sworn the Hippocratic Oath which means that we are at the service of our patients, that we will never procure something which can kill an embryo... People would not have faith in a doctor who is trying to heal and sometimes to kill with the other hand." Evidence to Senate Select Committee on Human Embryo Experimentation.

BAD NEWS: NIH CONSIDERS NEW FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH GUIDELINES
 WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN 30,2000 (ZENIT).- The National Institute of Health (NIH) has issued new guidelines that would change U.S. policy toward fetal tissue research. The guidelines include standards for harvesting "stem cells" from living embryos, a procedure that kills the unborn child.  Previously, the destruction of live embryos for federal research
 was not permitted. The children that will be used are "spare" embryos from fertility clinics that are "in excess of clinical need."
Scientists say the dozen or so existing stem cell cultures are not enough for their needs, and estimate they will need hundreds of cell lines ( i.e.. drawn from hundreds of different embryos) to work on.
The Nuremberg Code, adopted in response to the horrors of Nazi "research," states: "There shall be no experimentation on a human being when it is known ahead of time that the research will kill that human being." That is precisely what "therapeutic cloning" does, and that is why we must oppose it.
 Pro-life leaders point out that the same research could be done with umbilical cord blood, adult stem cells, or placental cells.

With the news that using adult stem cells may be more fruitful in treating disease than embryonic stem cells, there seems little need for this destruction of tiny humans for scientific research. The adult cells can be taken from the adult patient, and returned after treatment, thus removing the possibility of rejection. (See the international journal Science 2 April 1999). **
 UCLA scientists have figured out a way to harvest stem cells from fat removed during cosmetic surgery. Researchers at University of California succeeded in converting adult stem cells from human fat tissue into bone, muscle and cartilage cells. (The Times, April 10, 2001) **
Scientists have turned skin cells from cows into beating heart cells that could be used to repair a damaged heart. If perfected, it would sidestep therapeutic cloning, which involves the creation and destruction of human embryos to make tissue for repairs to the body.
In Neuroscience magazine August 2000 researchers reported adult stem cells extracted from adult bone marrow can grow into neural stem cells, potentially useful to repair damaged nerve cells in the spine and brain. ( CNN, August 15, 2000)

Also, a new procedure by an American subsidiary of the British Biotech company PPL Therapeutics, which takes and stores a few dozen millilitres of blood from the umbilical cord after birth, yields a rich source of stem cells. If the child develops a disease such as leukemia, the cells can be used to provide healthy blood, with no risk of rejection, and no ethical problems. Chief medical officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, called this ability to make a patient's own tissue without the ethical complications of destroying cloned embryos, the "Holy Grail". (Brisbane Sunday Mail report by Helen McCabe 4 March 2001)**

Corneal grafts grown from a patient's own stem cells will be trialled by eye surgeons for the first time in 2001. Tissue engineers from QUT have developed a way of growing new corneas in the laboratory, just like skin grafts. Researcher Damien Harkin, having spent 2 years perfecting the technique, will now trial taking a tiny piece of tissue from the patient's good eye, culturing it in the laboratory into a sheet of corneal cells, and grafting this onto the patient's other, damaged eye. The aim is to get a better compatibility than from donor grafts, and to heal inflammation in the damaged eye. (RockhamptonMorning Bulletin Aug 6th, 2001)

However, injection of foetal stem cells into the basal ganglia of Parkinsons disease patients has had to be abandoned, as no patients showed improvement and 15% of patients had muscular movements worsen due to the stem cells (which cannot be removed or deactivated) growing too well and producing excessive amounts of dopamine. (see QRTL newsletter April 2001) Quoting Columbia University neurologist Dr. Paul Green in the New England Journal of Medicine, "The uncontrollable movements some patients suffered were absolutely devastating. They chew constantly, their fingers go up and down, and their wrists flex and distend. [The patients] writhe and twist, jerk their heads, fling their arms about. It is tragic, catastrophic, a real nightmare. And we cannot selectively turn it off." New England Journal of Medicine, volume 344:710-719   March 8, 2001   Number 10 "Transplantation of Embryonic Dopamine Neurons for Severe Parkinson's Disease" Curt R. Freed, M.D., Paul E. Greene, M.D., et. al., also Weber, W., Butcher, J. (2001) `Doubts over cell therapy for Parkinson's disease', Lancet 357, 859, March 17.**
 A more frightening story was reported in 1996 in the Journal Neurology. Fetal tissue injected into a patient's brain produced transient improvement, but within two years the patient developed a brain tumor and died. An autopsy revealed that the fetal cells had taken root, but had then metamorphed into other types of human tissue -- hair, skin and bone. These grew into the tumor, which killed the patient. Folkerth, R.D., Durso, R. (1996) `Survival and proliferation of non-neural tissues, with obstruction of cerebral ventricles, in a Parkinsonian patient treated with fetal allografts', Neurology 46, 1219-25.

So far, all the "claims" made for use of fetal tissue are at best overpublicised "promises", hoped for results that have not been achieved.

Research papers which clearly show adult stem cells successful versus embryo stem cell research unsuccessful:
Paraplegic rats:
Ramon-Cueto (using adult nerve stem cells for paralised rats) "Functional recovery of paraplegic rats and motor axon regeneration in their spinal cords by olfactory ensheathing glia" Neuron 25, 425-435; Feb 2000 ( this animal trial success has led to human trials of the same adult nerve cells in spinal injury by Prof Peter Silburn and his team at Brisbane's PA Hospital spinal unit in 2002.) compare this to similar study using embryonic stem cells on rats:
Macdonald, JW et al. Nature Medicine 12, 1410-1412, Dec 1999 (proved slightly better than no treatment at all,  1 in 5 incidence of tumours in rats arising from the transplanted embryonic stem cells)
Diabetes trials:
Adult stem cells  form insulin-secreting cells - Scientists retrained immune cells to reverse type 1 diabetes in mice
S Ryu et al. "Reversal of established autoimmune diabetes by restoration of endogenous B cell function," J Clin Invest 108, 63-72
In June another trial using liver stem cells completely reversed their diabetes Yang L et al.  "In vitro trans-differentiation of adult hepatic stem cells into pancreatic endocrine hormone-producing cells" Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA June 4 2002.(http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/12/8078 )Human trials will soon occur after this success.
Embryonic stem cells secreted only 1/50th the normal amount of insulin and the diabetic mice who received the implants died.
N Lumelsky et al. "Differentiation of embryonic stem cells to insulin-secreting structures similar to pancreatic islets" Science 292. 1389-1394, May 18 2001. **

Parkinsons Disease:
Adult stem cells
Chicago Rush Hospital team identified the signal to turn brain stem cells into dopamine neurons, and grafted the cells into brains of Parkinsons rats, effectively curing the rats' severe Parkinsons symptoms. Experimental Biology meeting, New Orleans, April 2002
Emory University group implanted retinal cells into brains of advanced Parkinsons patients, improving their motor function by 50% .  American Academy of Neurology Conference, Denver, April 18, 2002
Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center reports a total reversal of symptoms in the first Parkinsons patient treated using the patients' own adult neural cells. American Association of Neurological Surgeons meeting, April 8, 2002.
Australian trials are now planned.
Embryonic stem cells
Parkinsons rats injected with embryonic stem cells showed a modest benefit for just over 50% of rats, but 20% died of brain tumours caused by these stem cells. L M Bjorklund et al. "Embryonic stem cells develop into functional dopamine neurons after transplantation in a Parkinson rat model" Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 99, 2344-2349, Feb 19 2002, published online Jan 8 2002.
More journal citations available on request by emailing afalist@family.org.au and asking for copy of DO NO HARM Australians for ethical medical research media release Thursday 29th August 2002 "Trounsen: more misleading rodents revealed"
 

US NEWS  excerpt from Text of Bush's Stem Cell Speech Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001   "As a result of private research, more than 60 genetically diverse stem cell lines already exist. They were created from embryos that have already been destroyed, and they have the ability to regenerate themselves indefinitely, creating ongoing   opportunities for research.   I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these existing stem cell lines, where the   life-and-death decision has already been made.   Leading scientists tell me research on these 60 lines has great promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures.   This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line by   providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the   potential for life.   I also believe that great scientific progress can be made through aggressive federal funding of research on umbilical cord, placenta, adult and animal stem cells, which do not involve the same moral dilemma. This year your government will spend $250 million on this important research."  Reaction: 1.Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - ``The trade-off he has announced is morally unacceptable: The federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others.'' 2. American Life League analysis Scientists say that if it is true that only 60 stem cell lines exist, literally hundreds of embryonic human beings could have been destroyed, maybe more. There is no way of knowing precisely as the information is held by various for profit corporations not answerable to the government or the American public.  Quoting Professor Dianne Irving, and a paper completed for The Linacre Institute of the Catholic Medical Association:              " ... what has not been included in the public debates so far, nor addressed by the NIH, is the fact that in addition              to human embryos being destroyed as the source of these "stem cells", these "stem cells" themselves can naturally              become living embryos which could also be cultivated and then destroyed during experimentation. That is, once              separated from the whole intact human embryo, these separated cells naturally tend to undergo "regulation" --              i.e., to "heal" themselves from any injuries, and they then revert to being new living whole embryos -- human beings              themselves....These objective scientific facts are also known by IVF researchers and clinicians, who consider              exploiting this natural "healing" tendency in order to produce more embryos for cultivation, implantation and research              purposes..."  PARIS, Aug 13 (AFP)Canadian scientists had isolated stem cells in the skin of rodents that can generate neural tissue, muscle or fat cells, the science magazine Nature Cell Biology said.A similar application from human skin could play an important role in repairing damaged human tissue, it said.  SINGAPORE, Aug 14 (AFP) -  Singapore scored a medical first when doctors successfully treated a five-year-old Malaysian boy for thalassaemia  -- a genetic blood disease -- by transplanting blood from the umbilical cord of an unrelated donor.  Oh Tze Sun, a Malaysian-Chinese, was given the cord blood on July 3 and tests taken 28 days later showed he was now  producing normal red cell corpuscles unlike in thalassaemia where the cells were pale and small.  UNITED KINGDOM Daily Telegraph, 18 September 2001  A three-year-old boy has been cured of a fatal disease by the use of stem cells extracted from his sister's placenta. Tom Stretch suffered from chronic granulomatous, an inherited defect of the white blood cells which would probably have led to his death in his 20s. No suitable bone marrow donor could be found, so doctors at Newcastle-upon-Tyne general hospital in  England took stem cells from the placenta of his sister Hanna, who was free from the condition, after she was born last November and transplanted them into Tom. http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/18/nsave18.xml   More success stories Articles:  Clarke, D L  Johansson, C B Frisen J et al. "Generalised potential of adult neural stem cells" Science 2000, 288, pp1600-1663. ** Vogel, G. "Can old cells learn new tricks?" Science 25 Feb 2000 p. 1418-1419 ** Hines, P  Purnell, B Marx, J  "Stem cells branch out" Science 25 Feb 2000  p. 1417 ** Hall, Stephen S. "Adult Stem Cells" Technology Review magazine          November 2001 **                             (http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/nov01/hall.asp)

 

Australian News: MARCH 2003 Queensland has become the first Australian state to authorize embryonic stem cell research using so-called "surplus" embryos from IVF clinics. Under the law, scientists will be able to experiment on all  leftover embryonic humans created by IVF before April 5, 2002, with the sperm/ova donors' consent. The bill was opposed on a conscience vote by 8 government MPs and 12 opposition MPs. But 65 government, independent and Opposition MPs, including Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg, ganged up to pass the law. AYES, 65— Attwood, Barry, Barton, Beattie, Bligh, Boyle, Bredhauer, Briskey, E. Clark, L. Clark, Croft,J. Cunningham, Edmond, English, Fenlon, Foley, Fouras, Hayward, Hobbs, Jarratt, Keech, Lavarch, Lawlor, Lingard,Livingstone, Lucas, Mackenroth, Male, Malone, McGrady, McNamara, Miller, Molloy, Mulherin, Nelson-Carr, Nolan,Nuttall, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Phillips, Poole, Quinn, Reilly, Reynolds, E. Roberts, Robertson, Rodgers, Rose, Schwarten, C. Scott, D. Scott, Seeney, Sheldon, Spence, Stone, Strong, Struthers, C. Sullivan, Welford, Watson,Welford, Wellington, Wells, Wilson. Tellers: Springborg, Reeves. NOES, 20— Bell, Choi, Copeland, E. Cunningham, Flynn, Horan, Johnson, Lee, Lee Long, Lester, Mickel, Pitt, Pratt, Purcell, Rowell, Shine, Simpson, Smith. Tellers: T. Sullivan, Hopper Labor backbencher Ronan Lee criticized the government for arguing that embryos are not important because they are "smaller than a full stop. We ought to look at them not as though they are worthless but with wonderment," Mr. Lee said. "We ought to treat them with respect." For local coverage: http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6116787%255E1 702,00.html For related coverage: AUSTRALIA SET TO ALLOW DESTRUCTIVE RESEARCH ON HUMAN EMBRYOS http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/apr/02040404.html 2002 After a long,divisive national debate,Australia's Senate passed legislation allowing researchers to harvest human embryos from IVF clinics for their stem cells - and destroy them in the process. The Senate voted 45-26 in favor of the Research Involving Embryos Bill,with members permitted to a rare conscience vote on the issue. Kirsten Livermore voted for the Bill, as did fellow Qld senators Bartlett, Cherry, Ludwig, Mason, Moore, and McLucas. Against the Bill were Qld Senators Boswell, Brandis, Hogg, and Santoro. Reacting to the vote, Roman Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson said Parliament had "created for the first time in Australian political and legal history a class of human life which is statutorily expendable." "Human life now becomes a commercial commodity," he said. "Under these laws, human life is for sale." The bill now returns to the House of Representatives for consideration of minor amendments passed by the Senate, none of which are expected to prevent final passage. The legislation is expected to take effect next year. This is another setback for the Prolife movement in Australia, following on the removal of abortion from the criminal code in the ACT this year and determined efforts to provoke legalising of euthanasia. Australian legislation on life issues recently has been anti-life, just as the American situation is finally starting to turn around and become more pro-life.  The report of the Senate Commitee on Research involving embryos and prohibition of human cloning Bill 2002 has been posted on the internet at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/emb_cloning/report/index.htm The report show that the Committee members themselves were split on the issues and unable to form a united opinion on the ethics of using human embryos for research.  Some of the many public submissions to this Senate Commitee on Research involving embryos and prohibition of human cloning Bill 2002 can be viewed at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/emb_cloning/submissions/sublist.htm 1851 submissions were tabled and 1803 of these were opposed to the Bill. In spite of this, the 2nd reading vote during the week of 11th-15th Nov was  43 senators in favour, 26 against.  Source:   Cybercast News Service; August 29, 2002 Aussie Lawmakers Ban All Human Cloning Canberra, Australia -- Australia's parliament has voted unanimously to ban all human cloning. The vote late Thursday followed an agreement by lawmakers to split the cloning ban component from broader legislation they are considering, which would also legalize controversial research on human embryos. Pro-lifers happy with the cloning ban are also pleased with lawmakers'decision to split the "Research Involving Embryos and Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill."The move is a victory for pro-lifers and other opponents of embryonic stem cell research, who are now free to vote against the remaining portion when it is put to a vote in a fortnight's time. The House voted 89-43 to divide the piece of legislation into two parts -- one dealing with cloning, the other with embryonic stem cell research. It's reported to be the first time a bill has been split in Australia in 100 years. Once that decision was made, the cloning ban component was passed unanimously by the House. It now goes to the Senate where it's expected to pass easily. The ban covers cloning of a human embryo for whatever purpose, including so-called "therapeutic cloning" -- pro-lifers prefer to call it "destructive cloning" -- that would allow cloning of an embryo solely to provide stem cells. With the cloning matter out of the way, lawmakers have more time to debate-- and be lobbied on -- the more contentious embryonic stem cell research provision. Major parties are allowing their members a rare conscience vote on the legislation, which if passed will allow scientists to harvest stem cells from "spare" embryos created during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Supporters of embryonic research are understood to be in the majority in the House, but the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where resistance is stronger. It's been an eventful week in Australia's lower house of parliament, with the pro-embryonic research camp under fire.The country's leading proponent of embryonic research, Prof. Alan Trounson, earlier admitted having misled lawmakers and the public about hopeful research on rats which he incorrectly said had involved embryonic stem cells. Trounson, whose lobbying is credited with persuading Prime Minister Howard to drop his early opposition to embryonic stem cell research, said the mistake had been unintentional. After the admission, Howard told parliament he was taking advice on whether a decision last May to allocate 43.5 million Australian dollars ($24.6 million) to a new stem cell research center headed by Trounson should be reviewed in the light of the "inaccurate representation." "It is incumbent on people who hold very respected scientific positions in this country to be very careful about the claims they make," the prime minister said. Trounson is not speaking to the media, after the board of the research center advised him to stop discussing the matter publicly. In some trials using embryonic stem cells, one in five laboratory animals receiving the cells have developed cancerous tumors. The premiers of Australia's three most populous states have indicated that,should the federal legislation fail, they will push to have the irrespective state legislatures legalize embryonic stem cell research in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. Subject:  Scientist Lies to Aussie Lawmakers on Stem Cell Research Source:   The Australian; August 27, 2002 Canberra, Australia -- The leading Australia proponent of embryonic stem-cell research has admitted his  "trump card video" showing a crippled rat walking, which was used in trying to win over politicians, was not demonstrating a success from the kind of embryos covered in a stem cell research bill before the Australian  parliament.  Alan Trounson and his colleagues said last night that the rat's cure had not come from the five-day-old  fertilised eggs that will be made available under the embryonic stem-cell research bill, but from "germ cells"  from five-to nine-week-old aborted babies.  Some MPs and senators were angry last night that they were misled by the US example, which was not  relevant to the Australian legislation. In an attempt to win support from federal MPs, Professor Trounson told them last week that human embryonic stem cells had been injected into crippled rats in the US and "the  animals walked again and had control of bowel and bladder function".  He urged MPs to support the proposed legislation, which if passed would allow human embryos left over from IVF to be destroyed and developed into stem-cell lines for research into potential cures for various diseases.  Pro-life groups strongly oppose the research to be funding and conducted on the back of the destruction of human life. The video also was used by NSW Premier Bob Carr to promote the chance of cures from using IVF embryos  and was shown on Australian national television as an example of embryonic stem-cell research.  But Professor Trounson said last night that the human cells used to help the rat were "embryonic germ cells" taken from five-to-nine-week-old aborted babies. Peter Silburn, of Griffith University in Queensland, said the "germ cells" used in the John Hopkins Institute  research were "beyond the stage of stem cells." "I don't think the research is relevant to the current legislative debate," Dr Silburn said.  Professor Trounson said that although the techniques used to fix the crippled rat did not involve the stem  cells covered by the proposed legislation, the cells used "were closer to embryonic stem cells than to adult  stem cells".  He had used the term embryonic stem cells when talking to parliamentarians although he knew the cells  used with the rats were "germ cells". "I may have used the term as it is used in the United States to refer to both stem cells," he said.  The Government used its parliamentary numbers last night to push the embryonic stem-cell research  debate into the non-broadcast main committee room. TISSUE from aborted fetuses could be used in the commercial production of embryonic stem cells for export early next year.Melbourne firm ES Cell International will use tissue from aborted fetuses if it is proven to be the best medium for growing human embryonic stem cells in bulk quantities. ES Cell chief executive Robert Klupacs said yesterday that he was unaware of any legal impediment to using human fetal tissue as a so-called feeder layer for growing the cells. ES Cell, a commercial partner in Alan Trounson's National Centre for Stem Cell Engineering, funded research in Singapore resulting in the world's first solely human embryonic stem-cell line. The research, carried out by Ariff Bongso at the National University of Singapore, was a breakthrough because all other embryonic stem-cell lines in existence had been grown on mouse feeder cells. These cannot be used in human treatments because of the risk of spreading animal retro-viruses.Controversy has arisen over the research because Professor Bongso tested tissue from a 14-week-old aborted fetus as a feeder layer. Mr Klupacs hopes to begin producing human embryonic stem cells from new "clean" lines in six to nine months at ES Cell's newly opened laboratory at Melbourne's Baker Heart Research Institute. The result could be the first for-profit Australian use of tissue from aborted fetuses, taking the debate beyond the use of fetal tissue for research by scientists at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital. With as many as 10 million cells likely to be involved in a single treatment of a patient, ES Cell is aiming to scale up its production into the billions. To do this, according to Mr Klupacs, new processes will have to be developed that will allow the cells to multiply in fermentation tanks and without the use of feeders. ES Cell already is exporting human embryonic stem cells grown on mouse feeder layers to researchers around the world for $11,000 per delivery. The company is now waiting for new clean lines of human ES cells to be developed, probably by research collaborators in Israel or Singapore. These will be imported and put into commercial production in the Melbourne facility, possibly by as early as February. http://finance.news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,4861423,00.html, also Herald Sun 8 August 2002**  Australia: Embryo Use - Cabinet Split--6/8/2002            Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has taken a different stance from Prime Minister John Howard on the use of excess embryos for research causing a huge debate to break out. Anderson stated that by devaluing one life was leading towards a utilitarian society.             Source:  The Advertiser - http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,4823875%255E421,00.html   Wed, Jul 31 2002 A leading scientist on stem cell research says the time has past for therapeutic cloning, or the use of human embryos for research. As part of therapeutic cloning, embryos are created from human eggs and then used for their stem cells as part of research efforts to cure disease. Professor Alan Trounson, from Monash IVF, says the process is not sustainable because scientific breakthroughs are always being made. Professor Trounson says alternatives should be considered. "It's just not in my mind ever really been sustainable to think that every time you wanted to make an embryonic stem cell line for a sick patient, that you'd have to source 25, 50, 100 eggs to do it, so the alternatives are probably becoming just as efficient."Australian Broadcasting Corp - http://www.abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/07/item20020729100632_1.htm Prime Minister John Howard said the Australian government would seek to ban human cloning and the creation of human embryos specifically for medical research, but would allow human embryos left over from fertility treatments to be used for stem cell research. About 70,000 human embryos created for in-vitro fertility treatment are currently stored in Australia. "Our proposal at this stage is that only existing embryos should be available for that research. It is proposed that the consent of the donors should be obtained in every case, " Howard told a news conference in Canberra. Howard said the use of embryonic stem cells to research cures for diseases should be legislated both federally and by the nation's six states, with lawmakers allowed a free, or "conscience," vote on the issue. there is believed to be enough support in Parliament to pass such legislation. The nation's six states favor using stem cells from human embryos to research cures for diseases and had threatened to change state laws to allow for the research even if the federal government did not agree. Source: Reuters, April 2, 2002 NEWS: AUSTRALIAN scientists success with stem cells located in mouse brains.  Now, according to a report in the August 16th issue of the journal  Nature, researchers led by Dr. Perry Bartlett of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Parkville, Victoria, have isolated stem cells from a part of the brain called the periventricular region.    When the researchers cultured the cells in the lab, they found that 80%  of the cells removed from mouse brains showed properties of stem cells.After isolating the cells, Bartlett and his colleagues succeeded in getting  them to become specialized cells in a lab dish and in mice. And when  transplanted into mice embryos, the cells transformed into two types of brain cells: neurons and glia. The cells also were able to form muscle cells when they were grown in the presence of muscle cells. SOURCE: Nature 2001;412:690-691, 736-739. This ethical research could lead to drugs to help the brain repair itself. Bartlett said the findings "provide a means to discover pharmaceuticals which can stimulate the stem cell in the adult brain to produce new nerve cells to replace those damaged by disease or injury." This would avoid problems associated with transplantation of stem cells and possible rejection of the cells by the body.    "The studies also show unequivocally that the adult stem cells are 'plastic' and can give rise to other cell types, suggesting that adult stem cells share at least some of the properties of ES (embryonic stem) cells, Bartlett said. "Of course this is mouse, and the comparison in humans has not as yet been possible."The finding raises the prospect of restoring normal brain function in  patients with brain injuries or neurodegenerative conditions by stimulating the production of new nerve cells without transplantation, said Rodney Rietze, a doctoral student who carried out most of the lab work at the Melbourne institute.    "The ultimate aim is to help patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's," Frisen said. "It will be very difficult to attain, but we should hopefully know a lot more about the feasibility of this approach within this decade."      Scientists divided on stem cells              4 April 2002 il  2 http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s520417.htm Doubt about adult stem cells premature 15 March 2002    http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s505451.htm House of Representatives report on Human cloning: scientific, ethical and regulatory aspects of human cloning and stem cell research tabled in the House of Representatives on 17 September 2001.  http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/laca/humancloning/contents.htm Biotechnolgy Australia on cloning of human cells http://www.biotechnology.gov.au/biotechnologyOnline/human/h_clone.htm Subject:   Australian Pro-Lifers May Lose Battle Against Destructive Embryo Research  Source:   Cybercast News Service; March 28, 2002  Melbourne, Australia -- Pro-lifers in Australia appear to be losing the battle against allowing the harvesting of stem cells from human embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.  After consulting with scientists, Prime Minister John Howard is reported to be leaning toward giving the go-ahead for stem cell research using "spare" IVF embryos - or at least allowing individual states to set their own regulations.  Earlier, Howard was understood to have favored a federal ban. Some scientists had warned that such a move would result in a "brain-drain," with top Australian researchers moving elsewhere to continue work they hope will one day lead to cures for degenerative diseases.  Prof. Alan Trounson, a leading reproductive biologist and pioneer in human IVF, discussed the issue with Howard for almost an hour this week, and said afterwards he believed the prime minister was being persuaded to back the research.  Howard's office has not commented on his position.  The Roman Catholic Church and other pro-life groups argue that hopes of possible future treatments for diseases do not justify the destruction of embryos for their stem cells. Research using "adult" stem cells from other sources, such as bone marrow and placentas, should instead be pursued, they say. Urging Howard to adopt this view has been his Minister for Ageing, Kevin Andrews, who is also a staunch Roman Catholic.  The premiers of three of Australia's six states earlier indicated their support for the research.  This week, just days before Howard meets with state premiers to debate the issue, a fourth has joined them.  Premier Steve Bracks of Victoria, who is a Catholic, told state lawmakers he would now lobby Howard to allow the research. Victoria is home to world-leading biotechnology institutes, but when Bracks' Labor government came to power in the state in late 1999, it inherited legislation outlawing destructive research using spare IVF embryos.  In recent days, leading scientists based in the Victorian capital, Melbourne, have warned they may relocate some of their work to the adjoining state of New South Wales, whose premier supports embryonic stem cell research.  Under pressure, Bracks announced he would support the research in Victoria, arguing that the 1995 legislation he inherited was inconsistent anyhow, in that it banned use of local IVF embryos, but allowed the use of embryos from other countries.  Bracks said he would urge Howard to formulate a national policy allowing the use of the IVF embryos - but not those from other sources, such as cloning.  Bracks' announcement brought a rebuke from his church. The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said the research was a "terrible assault on life at its earliest moments." Hart urged political leaders to "renounce the logic of darkness and death and support instead reverence for every human life." "Just because someone is very young or unwanted or going to die soon anyway is no excuse for killing them, let alone cannibalizing them for spare parts while still alive," he said.  Those arguing in favor of using the embryos say they are unwanted "spares" that are going to be discarded anyway. Many supporters of the research also disagree with the view that life begins from the moment of fertilization, saying that early-stage embryos are potential life rather than actual life.  Melbourne's Anglican (Episcopalian) leader, Archbishop Peter Watson, also issued a warning, saying in an open letter that while benefits may be gained from biotech research, this should not happen "at cost to human dignity, or treating human beings as marketable commodities.""I urge those who lead us into the new frontiers of knowledge to do so with humility and respect for the high dignity of human life as bearing the image of God," Watson wrote.  Other Australian church leaders - although not without exceptions - have also come out against the use of human embryos in research.  Margaret Tighe, national president of Right to Life Australia, has characterized stem cell research using human embryos as a gross abuse of human rights.  According to Australian medical ethicist Dr. Amin Abboud, while successes of research into adult stem cells have been extraordinary, with applications already being used to treat patients in the U.S., "embryonic stem cells, by contrast, have not helped a single patient." Abboud said that the debates around embryonic stem cells had been marked by "misinformation, personal interest and financial gain."  He pointed to observations by the editor of the journal, Stem Cells, which pour cold water on claims that therapeutic benefits from embryonic stem cells are close at hand.  The journal's editor, Curt I. Civin - a keen advocate of embryonic stem cell research - wrote in the Sept. 2001: "We scientists have exaggerated the immediacy of the prospects of clinical therapies using stem cells, and that this has led to public misunderstanding."  In a Nov. 2000 issue, Civin wrote: "I am concerned that, in communicating our excitement about the wonderful and likely long-term gains we can achieve by unleashing scientists to study human embryonic stem cells, we stem cell biologists have confused the public into thinking that we are nearly there. "Such gains will take years, perhaps decades," he wrote.  D Archbishop Pell's comments in Catholic Weekly 21 April 2002   ACT NOW!!!           "Do No Harm Coalition" of pro-life groups asks that YOU urgently lobby your politicians,  Federal and State, to prohibit destruction of embryos for stem cell research. Webpage for resources at www.family.org.au/bioethics/cloning/index.html No Human Cloning An Open Letter to Australia’s Federal, State and Territory Governments Our community must determine appropriate standards for medical research involving human subjects.... Respect Life Office Catholic Diocese of Melbourne

Quotable quotes:
Quote on experiments on embryos by Geneticist Jerome Lejeune:
"To accept the fact that after fertilisation has taken place, a new human being comes into being, is no longer a matter of taste or of opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence...Why we should not experiment on human beings is very simple: from all the genetic laws that we have tried to summarise, we are entirely convinced that every embryo is, by itself, a human being...I am a doctor. I have sworn the Hippocratic Oath which means that we are at the service of our patients, that we will never procure something which can kill an embryo... People would not have faith in a doctor who is trying to heal and sometimes to kill with the other hand." Evidence to Senate Select Committee on Human Embryo Experimentation.

"Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things." American philosopher Russell Baker

"We have been a consumer society for so long that for us it seems right to consume our unborn. This consumption is not, in the first instance, by the disabled and the sick. Currently the main consumers work in the biotech industry, who serve to profit both professionally and financially on the tissues of these beings who have never been allowed to be born....People have an uncanny ablility to justify actions incrementally...it is declared a waste to let 'spare' embryos and foetal tissue go unused, and research using both is promoted." Andrew Cameron, lecturer in ethics, Moore Theological College, Sydney, in an article "Consuming our unborn is indefensible"
(Sydney Morning Herald 7/08/02)