Pro-Life News in Brief

By Liz Townsend

Study Shows Great Potential for Adult Stem Cells

        Muscle-derived adult stem cells have the ability to multiply in large numbers, which is necessary to develop effective treatments for diseases, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of Molecular Biology of the Cell.

        This study directly contradicts proponents of embryonic stem cell research, who have long insisted that only embryonic cells are versatile enough to be grown in large quantities. Embryonic cells are harvested by killing developing human beings, while adult cells are extracted without harming the donor.

        Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) and the University of Pittsburgh found that adult stem cells are able to multiply in the same amounts as embryonic cells. They extracted adult stem cells from the muscle tissue of mice and watched as the cell population grew, counting the number of times the cells doubled, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

        The cell population doubled more than 250 times, and the new cells were as healthy as the original ones.

        “Scientists have typically believed that adult or post-natal stem cells grow old and die much sooner than embryonic stem cells, but this study demonstrates that is not the case,” said Dr. Johnny Huard, senior author of the study, in a CHP press release.

        Huard and his colleagues plan to conduct the same type of study on human adult stem cells, according to the Tribune Review. If successful, it would mean that doctors could extract stem cells from a patient, grow them so there is enough for treatment, and use the patient’s own cells to fight the disease. This would solve any problems of rejection by the patient’s immune system that occurs when cells from a different source are used.

        “The entire world is closely following the advances in stem cell research, and everyone is interested in the potential of stem cells to treat everything from diabetes to Parkinson’s disease,” said Huard. “But there are also many ethical concerns surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells, concerns that you don’t have with post-natal or adult stem cells. My belief is that this study should erase doubts scientists may have had about the potential effectiveness of post-natal stem cells.”

Florida Parental Notice Law Can Be Enforced

        U.S. District Judge William Stafford has rejected a petition for a temporary injunction filed by pro-abortionists, meaning that a Florida law requiring minors to notify parents before an abortion can go into effect. Stafford ruled July 7 that opponents of the law did not prove that they would be able to win a court case declaring the law unconstitutional, according to the Associated Press (AP).

         Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in November 2004 stating that the privacy right does not extend to parental notification of a minor’s abortion. The legislature quickly passed a parental notification law that went into effect July 1.

        Though the pro-abortionists’ lawsuit will continue to move through the courts, as a result of Stafford’s ruling, the law will be enforced. When unmarried girls 17 or younger seek an abortion, the abortionist must notify one parent “in person or by phone 48 hours before the abortion or, if that’s not possible, by certified mail 72 hours in advance,” according to the AP.

        Florida Solicitor General Christopher Kise told the AP that he was glad “the expressed public policy of the state of Florida continues to be the law.”

Illinois Governor Pledges $10 for Embryonic Stem Cell Research

        Bypassing a legislature that has refused to endorse lethal embryonic stem cell research, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued an Executive Order July 12 establishing a program to spend $10 million in state money on such research.

        By the end of the year, the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute will distribute grants to researchers to study stem cells, according to the Associated Press (AP).

        A press release issued by the governor’s office states that the funded research will include “adult, cord blood, and embryonic stem cells.” Twice in the last year the legislature has considered bills to fund embryonic stem cell research, but both bills failed to become law.

        The money for the institute was included in the state budget without the legislators’ knowledge, under the heading “scientific research.”

        “If it includes embryonic, that’s an end-run of the legislature. I don’t know if he has the authority to do it,” Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson told the AP. “I think that’s just this administration. They don’t have a great deal of respect for the legislative process.”

        Other opponents of embryonic stem cell research condemned the governor’s actions. “I think it’s shameful,” Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, told the AP. “I think it’s a disgrace that, on July 12, when the Legislature is not in session, he finds $10 million dollars to partially fund something that’s morally objectionable to many people.”

        The governor’s press release said that Illinois will now be the first state in the Midwest and only the fourth state nationwide to fund such research.