UK Opens Door to Designer Children
Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has approved the genetic screening of embryos to enable parents to have tissue-matched children who can help their sick siblings. Previously, embryos could only be screened for serious genetic disorders except by special permission of the Authority.
HFEA was asked to review the case of two-year-old Joshua Fletcher who suffers from Diamond Blackfan anemia. None of his family members were a close enough match to provide the stem cells necessary for treatment. The donor child’s umbilical cord blood will be used to treat Joshua.
The Authority approved the procedure in general whenever doctors can demonstrate that it is “a treatment of last resort.” Previously, such appeals had been denied because the level of risk to the newly-created child could not be quantified. Critics argued that opening the door to “savior siblings” violated the principle that human beings should not be used as means to an end and that the other embryos who are not chosen are being discriminated against precisely because of their genetic makeup.
Terri Schiavo’s Plight Continues
After the Florida Legislature last year approved emergency measures to reinsert Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube when Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer ruled it removed, her future is still unknown as the case continues to be mired in the courts.
At issue is the constitutionality of the statute that gave Governor Jeb Bush the right to intervene and countermand the Judge’s decision. The law was ruled unconstitutional by a Pinellas County judge and went straight to the Florida Supreme Court bypassing lower court review.
The Governor’s attorneys argue that there are nine unresolved issues that argue against husband Michael Schiavo’s ability to remain an adequate guardian, including why Michael never mentioned Terri’s supposed wish to die when in a malpractice trial where they were awarded $700,000. A jury trial has been requested by the Governor to attempt to determine Terri’s end-of-life wishes. Michael Schiavo is arguing that the new law violates his wife’s right to make personal medical decisions in addition to the argument that it violates the state’s constitutional separation of powers.
Stem Cell Research and Cloning Return to Contentious National Debate Status
After the recent death of President Ronald Reagan from Alzheimer’s disease and Nancy Reagan’s vocal support for the research, federal funding restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and cloning returned to center stage in the national political debates. Ron Reagan, Jr., was even given a prime-time spot at the Democratic National Convention to promote both embryonic stem cell research and cloning as the next cure for a myriad of currently untreatable diseases. He went so far in his speech as to assert that “theology of a few” should not “be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many.”
Even a routine U.S. Senate hearing in July on the current research on adult stem cell research turned contentious as Senators in favor of full federal funding of destructive human embryo research took the opportunity to promote their views and belittle those who disagreed. At one point, Senator Frank Lautenberg, seeking to find reason to dismiss the scientific testimony of Dr. Jean Peduzzi-Nelson from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, asked, “Are you a member of a pro-life committee?”
To date, there are 45 treatments using adult stem cells and zero treatments using embryonic stem cells. According to current estimates, the federal government is currently spending about $28 million on embryonic stem cell research. Approximately $145 million is going toward adult stem cell research though most of the money is currently for standard clinical trials for bone marrow stem cell use in treating various cancers.
