Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us
Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network
Home
Discussion Groups
General
GeneralCardiologyVisionDentistryPharmacyLaboratoryNutritionAlternative
Diseases and Disorders
AIDSAlzheimer'sArthritisAsthmaCancerBreast CancerDiabetesEpilepsyGlaucomaHepatitisHerpesLupusProstate BPHProstate CancerProstatitisSinusitisTinnitus

Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / May 2005

Tip: Looking for answers? Try searching our database.

Cancer-Stricken US Senator Urges Expanded Stem Cell Research

Thread view: 
Enable EMail Alerts  Start New Thread
Thread rating: 
c palmer - 30 May 2005 01:42 GMT
my comments -

i wonder if some of the other policial figures had PCa, would they push
harder
for this?

~ curtis

=========
By Michael Bowman
Washington

29 May 2005

Sen. Arlen Specter  A U.S. Senator and cancer sufferer says countless
lives could be saved if the United States expanded medical research
involving embryonic stem cells. President Bush has threatened to veto a
bill that would broaden federal support for the controversial area of
study.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is a Republican ally of President
Bush on Capitol Hill, but a political moderate and notoriously
independent-thinker. That independence is once again on display. Senator
Specter, who was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer [Hodgkin's lymphoma]
earlier this year, is a passionate advocate of expanded embryonic stem
cell research that President Bush opposes.
"We have 110-million people in this country who are directly affected by
illnesses, or their families are, who have the potential to have their
lives saved if we do not tie the hands of medical research," said Mr.
Specter, speaking on ABC's "This Week" program. "So we have two choices:
one is we use these embryonic stem cells to save lives, or we throw them
away."
The stem cells in question come from embryos that, were they to be
carried to term in a womb, could develop into healthy human babies. But
the embryos at the heart of the controversy are stored at fertility
clinics. U.S. clinics discard hundreds of thousands of "surplus" embryos
every year.
Scientists say stem cells extracted from embryos show great promise for
one day curing a wide variety of illnesses and debilitating conditions.
But Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback echoed President Bush's view
that human life should not be destroyed to save human life, and urged
harvesting stem cells from adults and other non-embryonic sources.
"These are human lives. When did each of your lives begin? When did your
life biologically start? And we should not be researching on that life
at any time during the continuum unless we have your consent," he said.
"I am a lot more concerned at this point about when my life is going to
end," responded Senator Specter bluntly.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill expanding federal
funding for embryonic stem cell research. Backing for the bill fell
short of the two-thirds that would be required to override a
presidential veto. The Senate has yet to vote on the matter.
Debate on the issue extends beyond the federal level to individual U.S.
states, several of which have enacted their own measures in support of
stem cell research.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc
Leonard Evens - 30 May 2005 16:09 GMT
> my comments -
>
> i wonder if some of the other policial figures had PCa, would they push
> harder
> for this?

I strongly support Senator Spector and others in Congress who are
pushing to open up research on embryonic stem cell research.

But I haven't seen anyone suggest that such research would help much
with prostate cancer.  Of course, it is really basic biological research
which is likely to have significant applications, so you can't tell in
advance just where it will lead.  but most of hope, initially at least,
in for treatment of diabetes and neurological diseases such as
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease.

To show just where this administration is, note that they are opposing
paying for an abortion for a military wife where the fetus was without a
brain and guaranteed to die shortly after birth.   It should also be
noted that while Senator Spector is "pro Choice", several of his allies
in this fight in Congress, including Senator Hatch, have been strong
advocates of the "pro Life" position.

> ~ curtis
>
[quoted text clipped - 49 lines]
> invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
> http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc
Alan Meyer - 30 May 2005 18:22 GMT
I also support embryonic stem cell research.  It seems to me
that, even if you agree with President Bush's position that embryos
should not be created for medical research, the fact that
thousands of embryos are created for fertility reasons and then
simply destroyed each year seems to me to satisfy the
President's principle.  We can use the embryos that would
otherwise be destroyed with no benefit to anyone and no
protection for the potential human life they contain.  Some
of those cells could be used for research and, if research is
successful, some may even find their way into living people.

I don't want to belittle the right to life people.  I respect their
views and ideas although I don't agree with their conclusions.
I believe that the most effective way to implement the
principles they believe in is to work to minimize unwanted
pregnancies through education and birth control, and to
regulate medical research to ensure that it is done responsibly
and with utmost regard for the lives of the patients.  It would
be disrespectful of human life to perform silly or wasteful
experiments on embryos, but I think it might be equally
disrespectful of human life to stifle research that holds a
real promise of alleviating suffering.

   Alan

Rate this thread:






 
Sign In
Join
My Latest Posts
My Monitored Threads
My Blog
My Photo Gallery
My Profile
My Homepage

Start New Thread
Enable EMail Alerts
Rate this Thread



©2008 Advenet LLC   Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.