Stem cells are pro-life, pro-cure

From the April 29, 2009 edition of The Journal Record
By Stephen Prescott

Last week, Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have criminalized human embryonic stem cell research, and the Oklahoma Senate sustained that veto. On behalf of patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions, I’d like to offer Gov. Henry and the 19 senators who voted to sustain the veto a round of applause.

Proponents of the bill, House Bill 1326, tried to make it a debate about abortion, but it is not. Oklahoma law already – wisely – prohibits the use of any tissue obtained from abortions for research.

But HB 1326 would have done something else entirely: It would have made human embryonic stem cell research a crime.

But how can I support stem cell research and at the same time advocate banning research on tissue from abortion? Because embryonic stem cells aren’t obtained by abortion; they are created by in vitro fertilization.

These cells have never been implanted in a woman’s womb. If they were not used for research, they would be discarded as medical waste. Those cells slated for destruction are the only ones researchers hope to rescue for research purposes.

Some have claimed that embryonic stem cells have not proven successful as treatments. This is an incomplete and incorrect perspective.

Pre-clinical studies have shown that these cells hold promise for treating diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, arthritis and many other diseases. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration approved a clinical trial to test human embryonic stem cells to treat patients with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury.

That trial will soon begin, and victims of spinal cord injury will receive this experimental therapy. But HB 1326 prohibits such a trial from being conducted in this state. Indeed, any Oklahoma physician who treated an Oklahoman with an experimental stem cell therapy would be guilty of a crime.

Because this is the first year of a two-year legislative session, the vote to override can be called up at any time before the end of next year’s session in May 2010. To ensure this does not happen, Oklahomans must continue to tell their legislators that misguided efforts to short-circuit promising research avenues cannot prevail.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation does not conduct any research on human embryonic stem cells. And we have no plans to do so in the future. Nevertheless, I oppose this bill because I believe it’s wrong that cells that would otherwise be discarded cannot be used to help Oklahomans suffering from disease.

Legislation like this steals hope from those who need it most. If we are to continue to fight human disease on every possible front, bills such as HB 1326 must not become the law of our state.

Stephen Prescott is president of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.

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