Science’s fairy tales

Science | BIOETHICS: Emotional appeals, sympathetic victims shroud the stem-cell debate | John Dawson

Researcher Jean Peduzzi-Nelson of the University of Alabama-Birmingham didn’t expect a fight when she testified before a Senate committee about her research into the uses of adult stem cells. But defenders of embryonic stem-cell research were cruising to bruise her.

“Are you a member of a pro-life committee?” barked Sen. Frank Lautenberg after being told adult stem cells are as good at treating diseases as embryonic stem cells. When Sen. Sam Brownback tried to intercede on Dr. Peduzzi-Nelson’s behalf, Sen. Lautenberg persisted. “Whether I’m pro-life or pro-choice, I wish all these types of things could be kept out of the discussion,” Dr. Peduzzi-Nelson said.

Nice try. Since President Ronald Reagan’s death in June from Alzheimer’s disease, the study of embryonic stem cells—obtained by dissecting intact human embryos—has once again become a hot political issue. Stem cells are blank slates that the body can turn into any type of cell. Embryonic stem cells adapt more easily than adult stem cells harvested from placenta or bone marrow.

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August 07, 2004, Vol. 19, No. 30

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