Putting a Human Face on the Debate Over Embryonic Stem Cell Research
By Liz Townsend

To Steve and Kate Johnson, the debate over embryonic stem cell research is embodied in one angelic face: their daughter Zara. Zara lived for four years as a frozen embryo before the Johnsons adopted her, gave her a home in Kate's womb, and brought her to birth. Now she is a bubbly two-year-old, fulfilling the promise that once lay suspended in an in vitro fertilization lab.

The Johnsons, who live in Reading, Pennsylvania, testified in early March before a Maryland House committee considering two bills: one to fund lethal research on embryos just like Zara once was, and one to ban cloning of human beings for research. The family's views on this are even more compelling because Steve has been paralyzed since a bicycle accident in 1993.

Proponents of embryonic research claim that destroying embryos is justified if the research leads to treatments for disabled Americans like Steve. "But it comes down to a simple question: would I trade Zara's life for my ability to walk?" he told NRL News.

Zara sat on her dad's lap during his testimony, giving committee members a direct view of the children whose fate they were deciding through their votes.

"Sitting right in front of them was a blond-haired little girl, drawing pictures, who was adopted as an embryo," Steve said. "Whether the embryo is already created via in vitro or whether you create the embryo in a lab, the genetic blueprint is already there. It's not a dog, not a fish - - it's a human embryo."

The Johnsons decided to adopt a frozen embryo after they heard a radio report about the Snowflakes adoption program begun by Nightlight Christian Adoptions in 1997. Since Steve's paralysis made a conventional pregnancy risky, they decided to give an already-existing embryo the chance for life. In July 2002, Zara became the 14th Snowflake baby to be born to adoptive parents through the program.

The process of a frozen embryo adoption is much the same as a traditional one. The Johnsons filled out a questionnaire and provided photos to parents who had created frozen embryos for use in in vitro fertilization but who no longer wanted to use them. The biological mother and father would then choose adoptive parents to carry their children.

"We were first matched with six embryos, but none survived the initial thawing process," Steve said. "It was very hard to hear that they didn't survive, since Kate had already gone through weeks of hormone treatments to prepare her body for pregnancy."

A few months later, they were matched again with five embryos, who were shipped from Canada. Since implantation is not always successful, Kate received three embryos at one time in December 2001. Two weeks later, tests showed that Kate was pregnant. Zara was born nine weeks early due to pregnancy complications - - which were unrelated to her status as a former frozen embryo - - in July 2002.

"She spent one month in the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit]," Steve said. "But now she's two and a half, verbally off the charts, always on the go. She loves to read, loves Elmo and Sesame Street, loves going to church."

In addition to the living witness of their daughter, the Johnsons' testimony also stressed that embryonic stem cell research has had no success in the real world - - it is still purely theoretical. However, adult stem cells, taken from bone marrow, umbilical cords, and many other places, are actually treating people now.

"Every single time you use embryonic stem cells for research, you will kill a human, 100% of the time," Kate told NRL News. "But every time you use adult stem cells you put no one in harm's way - - not one time."

"We are absolutely pro-stem cell research," Steve stressed, "but from adult cells, umbilical cells. Every embryo has a face. Zara is one of these faces. And it's up to us to shine the light in the darkness."