Embryonic Stem Cells

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Genetically modified human embryo stirs criticism

My Way News

NEW YORK (AP) - News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward creating "designer babies." But an author of the study says the work was focused on stem cells. He notes that the researchers used an abnormal embryo that could never have developed into a baby anyway. "None of us wants to make designer babies," said Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The idea of designer babies is that someday, scientists may insert particular genes into embryos to produce babies with desired traits like intelligence or athletic ability. Some people find that notion repugnant, saying it turns children into designed objects, and would create an unequal society where some people are genetically enriched while others would be considered inferior.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International

Pope says some science shatters human dignity

Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Thursday that embryonic stem cell research, artificial insemination and the prospect of human cloning had "shattered" human dignity. In an address to members of the Vatican department on doctrinal matters, Benedict said the Church had a duty to defend the "great values at stake" in the field of bioethics. The speech was the latest in a series in which the conservative Pope has told his listeners that scientific progress should not be accepted uncritically. Benedict, who headed the same department for years before his election in 2005, said the Church was not against scientific progress but wanted it based on "ethical-moral principles". He said this included total respect for the human being as a person "from conception until natural death," and respect for the natural transmission of life through sexual intercourse. Practices like freezing embryos, suppression of embryos in multiple pregnancies, embryonic stem cell research, the prospect of human cloning and artificial insemination outside the body had "shattered the barriers meant to protect human dignity", he said. "When human beings in the weakest and most defenseless state of their existence are selected, abandoned, killed or used as pure 'biological material,' how can one deny that they are being treated not as 'someone' but as 'something,'" he said.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International

Animal-human embryo research is approved

Times Online

Experiments to create Britain’s first embryos that combine human and animal material will begin within months after a government watchdog gave its approval yesterday to two research teams to carry out the controversial work. Scientists at King’s College London, and the University of Newcastle will inject human DNA into empty eggs from cows to create embryos known as cytoplasmic hybrids, which are 99.9 per cent human in genetic terms. The experiments are intended to provide insights into diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal muscular atrophy by producing stem cells containing genetic defects that contribute to these conditions. These will be used as cell models for investigating new approaches to treatment, and to improve the understanding of how embryonic stem cells develop. They will not be used in therapy, and it is illegal to implant them into the womb.

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International

Designer baby fear over heart gene test

The Times Online

A British couple have won the right to test embryos for a gene that leads to high cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart attacks, The Times has learnt. The decision by the fertility watchdog will reopen controversy over the ethics of designer babies, as it allows doctors to screen embryos for a condition that is treatable with drugs and can be influenced by lifestyle as well as genes. While the procedure is designed to detect a rare version of a disease called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), which often kills children before puberty, it will also identify a milder form that can be controlled by drugs and diet. Critics argue that the test will allow couples to destroy embryos that would have had a good chance of becoming children with fulfilling and reasonably healthy lives.

World should ban human cloning, except medical: U.N.

Reuters

OSLO (Reuters) - The world should quickly ban cloning of humans and only allow exceptions for strictly controlled research to help treat diseases such as diabetes or Alzheimer's, a U.N. study said on Sunday. Without a ban, experts at the U.N. University's Institute of Advanced Studies said that governments would have to prepare legal measures to protect clones from "potential abuse, prejudice and discrimination". "A legally-binding global ban on work to create a human clone, coupled with freedom for nations to permit strictly controlled therapeutic research, has the greatest political viability of options available," the study said. "Whichever path the international community chooses it will have to act soon -- either to prevent reproductive cloning or to defend the human rights of cloned individuals," said A.H. Zakri, head of the Institute, which is based in Yokohama,

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International

Clinton Would Fund Stem Cell Research

ABC News

If elected president, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would sign an executive order rescinding President Bush's restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. She says she also would bar political appointees from altering or removing scientific conclusions from government research without a legitimate reason for doing so. The New York senator was to announce these and other proposals of her science agenda in a speech in Washington on Thursday. The address to the Carnegie Institution for Science was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union. The launch, which caught U.S. scientists by surprise, helped start the U.S.-Soviet space race and led to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "For six and half years under this president, it's been open season on open inquiry," Clinton said in remarks prepared for delivery. "By ignoring or manipulating science, the Bush administration is letting our economic competitors get an edge in the global economy. I believe we have to change course, and I know America is ready."

Scientists: We Can Make Embryonic Stem Cells From Women's Eggs

FoxNews.com

NEW YORK — Scientists say they've created embryonic stem cells by stimulating unfertilized eggs, a significant step toward producing transplant tissue that's genetically matched to women. The advance suggests that someday, a woman who wants a transplant to treat a condition like diabetes or a spinal cord injury could provide eggs to a lab, which in turn could create tissue that her body wouldn't reject. Ethicists disagreed on whether the strategy would avoid the long-standing ethical objections to creating embryonic stem cells by other means. Such cells can develop into virtually any tissue of the body, and scientists hope to harness them for producing specialized tissues like nerve cells or pancreas cells to treat a range of illnesses. But the process of harvesting the stem cells destroys embryos, which many people oppose.

N.J. research could gain from Bush's veto

North New Jersey

President Bush's veto Wednesday of a bill that would have eased restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research did little to blunt New Jersey's commitment to supporting the controversial science. Instead, it provided more encouragement to state officials. "To all the researchers out there that are frustrated by the president's inaction, I say: 'Welcome to New Jersey,' " said Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, a leading advocate on the issue.

Bush Plans to Veto Embryonic Stem Cell Bill...

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has chosen to use his veto pen three times - twice on the stem cell issue where politics, ethics and science collide. Pushing back against the Democratic-led Congress, Bush plans to veto a bill Wednesday that would have eased restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. At the same time, Bush will issue an executive order directing the Health and Human Services Department to promote research into cells that, like human embryonic stem cells, also hold the potential of regenerating into different types of cells that might be used to battle disease. Democrats made the stem cell legislation Bush promised to veto a top priority when they took control of the House and Senate in January. They do not, however, have enough votes to override a veto.

GOP lawmakers: 'Immoral' to make Americans pay for embryonic stem-cell research

One News Now

A pro-life congressman from Indiana accuses Democrats of wrongly framing the debate over federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. At the same time, some of his Republican colleagues are touting what they believe are ethical alternatives to ESCR. Democrats have sent President Bush a bill that would expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. The President is expected to veto the bill a second time, and House Republicans say they have the votes to uphold the veto.

Congress Votes To Ease Embryonic Stem Cell Funding

CBS News

(CBS/AP) The Democratic-controlled Congress passed legislation Thursday to loosen restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, but the bill's supporters lacked the votes needed to override President Bush's threatened veto. The 247-176 House vote marked the second time in recent weeks that Democratic leaders chose to confront Bush over an issue on which they command widespread public support, following a veto struggle over a proposed troop withdrawal timetable from Iraq.

New Stem Cell Breakthrough Avoids Destroying Human Embryos

ABC News

Stem cell researchers may have taken the first steps toward conducting stem cell research without having to take the controversial step of destroying human embryos. If the results can be replicated in human cells, the development could one day silence the arguments of those opposed to embryonic stem cell research on the basis that it violates the sanctity of human life.

Banking on Stem Cells

Time

A San Francisco company announced Tuesday that they would be the first to offer IVF patients the option of growing, freezing and banking their own embryonic stem cells. Until now, couples undergoing in vitro fertilization could not earmark stem cells derived from their embryos for their own future use; they could only donate them to the nationwide pool of embryos used for stem cell research.

Stem cells used to treat incontinence

USA Today

Doctors on Monday described a new way to treat urinary incontinence, an increasingly common problem that afflicts up to half of older women. Instead of traditional surgery, scientists are exploring tissue engineering — using patients' own stem cells to grow cells or tissue that is transplanted back into their bodies. Experts say they've made impressive progress recently. Last year, doctors in The Lancet described engineering bladders for spina bifida patients.

Stem Cells Set To Stamp-Out Infertility

ABC News

LONDON, Apr 18, 2007— The author of a new study on changing human bone marrow stem cells into immature sperm cells is optimistic that his work will eventually allow infertile men and lesbian couples to conceive by producing their own sperm. Dr Karim Nayernia of Newcastle University in England expressed his excitement to ABCNews.com, saying that "this represents a real breakthrough from a biological and medical point of view".

Senate Passes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill

The Washington Post

For the second time in nine months, the Senate today passed a bill that would loosen President Bush's restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, but once again falling short of the 67 votes needed to override a promised veto. The Senate voted 63 to 34 to pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would allow federally funded studies of stem cells isolated from embryos slated for destruction at fertility clinics.

Diabetics Cured by Stem-cell Treatment

Times On Line

Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again. In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.

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