Embryonic Stem Cell Research - get off your ass!

Ok, in case anyone's been living under a rock, there is a new (past decade or so) branch of research that uses stem cells (cells with the ability to 'grow' into certain different types of cells) to help repair damaged cells. There is hope (and studies have tentatively shown) that stem cells could be used to repair damage from degenerative diseases like alzheimers, spinal cord injuries, cancer... The list goes on. It's all still in the research stage, which is how every medical technology starts, but it's looking promising. There are a few different types of stem cells - some from adult donors, some from the placenta and umbilical cord after birth, and some from surplus embryos from fertility clinics. They all show promise, and embryonic stem cells are the 'biggest hope' - they are completely undifferentiated cells which have the coding and ability to grow into ANY type of cell in the human body.

In 2001, Bush imposed restrictions on federal funding of research of embryonic stem cells beyond the small pool that had already been established. This does not mean he banned the research, just federal funding (one of the largest sources of medical research support.) In 2004, as studies began bolstering our greatest hopes, many congressmen urged Bush to reconsider. He refused, because he is a man who stands his ground.

Now, both the House and the Senate have passed bills that lift these restrictions for research that meets certain criteria - only surplus embryos from fertility clinics that are going to be discarded anyway. Bush has vowed to veto the bill, and neither the House nor the Senate voted with a 2/3 majority that would allow an overrule.


Which brings me to my point - surveys indicate that the vast majority (70-80%) of the population supports ending the funding restrictions. This means that neither the House nor the Senate are voting as representatives of their constituents. Given the percentages, an overruling should be easy. Here is a cut and dried example of your representatives serving special interest groups over you. If you disagree with your Representative's vote, write them!

This is a case where precedent is simple - organ donation caused the same kind of strife, and the idea of 'brain death' was used to draw the line. These embryos have no brainwaves, because they have no brain. They have no heart, or lungs, or nerves. They are not fetuses. They have no potential for life, only destruction now or inviability later. Restrictions on this research have been put in place, and the embryos in question have only two possible destinies - waste or medical research that could save lives and increase the quality of life for us and future generations. This is not a pro-life stance, it's wasteful and protects noone - not even the embryos.


Our current crop of politicians (on both sides) have priorities other than their voting public's wellbeing. They owe favors and protect corporations and special interest groups, they schmooze and they pander, and we are the ones hurt in the end. Why aren't they voting for you? Because you voted in (or reelected, or didn't vote and got what you deserved) someone with different priorities than your own. Write your congressman and express your disappointment (or agreement) with their vote.

For reference, here is the house roll call for this bill - from May of 2005:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll204.xml

I'll add the Senate list when I find it.

 

Hey, Bush is easy to blame, but we voted the fucker in. TWICE.

Anyways, here is the bit I wrote to Mel Martinez, a Florida senator who voted against the bill yesterday. If you want to send it to your representative, feel free. Make any changes you want. You should probably change the last line - he isn't up for reelection this year, but one of yours might be.



I wanted to express my displeasure with your vote against S.471 yesterday. The bill in question contained restrictions limiting funding only to surplus embryos from fertilization clinics, and only allows use of embryos that were to be discarded. The embryos the bill proposed using would never be born, they would be destroyed anyway. Your vote against lifting the restrictions on embryonic stem cell funding will not save those embryos, only prevent them from being used to improve the lives of our children and future generations. You must realize that we've fought this fight before with organ donation, and eventually you will lose. Your vote allowing the restrictions to continue saves not one embryo, only delays research that could potentially save lives in the future. Your position on this issue is *not* pro-life. You are voting against the majority wishes of your constituents, and I am disappointed in your arrogance. I hope that you will reconsider your vote when the issue arrives before you in the 110th Congress.

 

Well, I sure as hell didn't vote for him, but we as a country did. He is OUR president (yes, even if you have a "Not My President" shirt or bumpersticker) because we live in a country that works that way. If you don't like it, leave. Or, as I'll keep repeating till it's annoying, we should be getting off our collective asses and doing something about it. Complaining just makes us look like pussies - action actually stands a chance of changing things.

All it would have taken is 5% of the Kerry voters to use solid facts to convince ONE of their friends to show up and vote. Bush won because too many people don't actually know anything about the political world, and Republicans rallied their vocal minority group much better than democrats rallied the rest of us. Talk 10 people from Publix into voting, and I might get 5 for either party. Talk 10 people from the local southern baptist church into voting... We lost the election because we didn't try hard enough. I won't make that mistake again - will you?

This year I'll be posting flyers, working at registration and absentee ballot drives, and driving wherever the League of Women voters tells me to pick people up and take them to their polling site. I'm keeping up on candidates and their views on issues (check out vote-smart.org) and talking about them with anyone who wants to listen.

 

You rock! I realized I needed to poke people when I mentioned this to a friend, and she said she didn't know who any of her representatives were. EEP! She feels strongly about stem cell research (she's a biomed student) but just figured her part as an academic was to keep fighting the good fight in the lab. She did decide to to write a quick letter (it takes 5 minutes to write one - and I'm sure I'm not the only one that posted mine online for others to take if they want.) and hopefully she'll be motivated to do a little more than complain.

 

Thanks for the link! It says 'updated every 20 minutes' but I was on that site several times that whole night and the next morning, and found nothing. I suppose that shouldn't surprise me...

and yeah, Santorum is... well, I like him almost as much as I like having toilet paper stuck in my ass crack.

Does he really send a 'my position is better' letter? Holy fuck! If I get one of those from *my* representative, I'll eat him alive. I expected political schmooze "I'm sorry we disagree, blahblahblah, but I value the input from my constituents" and it being tossed in the trash. Wow, how terrible is it that I hope they have a really poorly written letter.... =)

 

So, I had someone tell me recently that we shouldn't care so much about this, it's not like they are making the research illegal, they are just preventing it from being paid for with federal funds. He says this isn't actually hurting anyone at all, because California and other states, plus private companies, step up to the plate.

The thing is, that it's not just that the projects involving embryonic stem cell research can't apply for federal money - they can't even use equipment or laboratory space used on projects that get federal funding. That means that the equipment (and labs!) they use for cord stem cell and adult stem cell research can't be used for embryonic research at all. So they have to use/build a different lab, and buy ANOTHER set of the same super expensive medical machinery to work on the embryonic cells. That's if they can afford it! Other labs have had to make the choice of giving up all federal funding for their whole department (everything that shares equipment and labspace) in order to do this research, because they can't afford to waste all that money on duplicate machinery. Doubling costs unnecessarily, giving up your other federal funding, or waiting until Congress reconvenes next year after elections. Great choices.

So if you've heard that this just doesn't matter, dothe research and find out for yourself. Don't let your representatives vote against the majority of the people any more.

 

I've had the same thoughts, Winston, but I'm still enough of an idealist to hope (and formulate my complaints based on the idea) that GWB and co actually believe they are protecting innocents.

You could be very right - corporate interests almost by definition put profits over other concerns, like human health and well being. It wouldn't be the first time pharmeceuticals have used their considerable power to enact legislation that protects their industry. I couldn't begin to prove the connection here, though, so I just plod along trying to make sure people know that the argument GWB is using is fundamentally flawed. Maybe people will start to wonder why he'd use a groundless argument like that.

 

I got an almost identically worded letter from Mica. Can't wait until elections this fall!