this is what Obama thinks of stem cell research: please delete if
you are not interested!
Mindy the Artist
Barack Obama - U.S. Senator for Illinois - obama.senate.gov
Statement of Support for Stem Cell Research
Monday, July 17, 2006
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Mr. President, a few weeks ago I was visited by two of my
constituents-- Mary Schneider and her son Ryan.
When Ryan was just two years old, his parents and doctors noted
severe delays in his motor and speech development, and he was
diagnosed with cerebral palsy. His parents were devastated, as the
prognosis for many children with cerebral palsy is quite grim, and
given the severity of Ryan's condition, his doctors didn't have much
hope for his improvement.
Yet, his parents had hope. Because when Ryan was born, his parents
had saved his cord blood, a viable but limited source of stem cells.
They found a doctor at Duke University who was willing to perform an
experimental infusion with these cells to see if they might improve
his condition.
They did. In fact, they seem to have cured him.
Within months of the infusion, Ryan was able to speak, use his arms,
and eat normally, just like any other child - a miracle his family
had once only dreamed of.
Ryan's story exemplifies the power and the promise of stem cells to
treat and cure the millions of Americans who are suffering from
catastrophic, debilitating and life-threatening diseases and health
conditions.
Each year, 100,000 Americans will develop Alzheimer's disease. Over 1
million adults will be diagnosed with diabetes this year, which can
lead to complications such as blindness, damaged nerves and loss of
kidney function. And there are far too many individuals with spinal
cord injuries who are struggling to maintain mobility and independence.
For most of our history, medicine has offered little hope of recovery
to individuals affected by these and other devastating illnesses and
injuries.
Until now.
Recent developments in stem cell research may hold the key to
improved treatments, if not cures, for those affected by Alzheimer's
disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury and countless other conditions.
Many men, women and children who are cancer survivors are already
familiar with the life-saving applications of adult stem cell
research. Patients with leukemia or lymphoma often undergo bone
marrow transplants, a type of stem cell transplant, which can
significantly prolong life, or permanently get rid of the cancer.
This therapy has been used successfully for decades, and is saving
lives everyday.
Yet this breakthrough has its serious limitations. Adult stem cells,
such as those used in bone marrow transplants, can only be collected
in small quantities, may not be a match for the patient, and have
limited ability to transform into specialized cells.
Cord blood, like the kind Ryan used, has limitations as well. If, for
example, young Ryan's condition should deteriorate or he should
develop another illness, there simply are not enough cord blood cells
left for a second use.
His mother has told us that the few remaining cells would have to be
cloned to get enough cells for future use, or they would have to
obtain stem cells from another source.
These and other difficulties are the reasons why scientists have
started to explore other types and other sources for stem cells,
including embryonic stem cell research.
Embryonic stem cells can be obtained from a number of sources,
including in vitro fertilization. At this very moment, there are over
400,000 embryos being stored in over 400 facilities throughout the
United States. The majority of these are reserved for infertile
couples. However, many of these embryos will go unused, destined for
permanent storage in a freezer or disposal. We should expand and
accelerate research using these embryos, just as we should continue
to explore the viability of adult stem cell use and cord blood use.
All over the country, exciting progress is being made in the area of
embryonic stem cell research. At the University of Illinois, they're
finding that stem cells have the potential to treat blood disorders,
lung diseases, and heart damage.
At Johns Hopkins, researchers were able to use mouse embryonic stem
cells to repair damaged nerves and restore mobility in paralyzed
rats. One can't help but think that it's a matter of when, not if,
this research will be able to one day help those who have lost the
ability to walk.
For these reasons, I'm proud to be a long-term supporter of greater
stem cell research. While I was a member of the Illinois Senate, I
was the chief cosponsor of the Ronald Reagan Biomedical Research Act,
which would specifically permit embryonic stem cell research in
Illinois, and establish review of this research by the Illinois
Department of Public Health.
And I'm proud to be a cosponsor of the stem cell bill before us
today. This bill embodies the innovative thinking that we as a
society demand and medical advancement requires. By expanding
scientific access to embryonic stem cells which would be otherwise
discarded, this bill will help our nation's scientists and
researchers develop treatments and cures to help people who suffer
from illnesses and injuries for which there are currently none. But
the bill is not without limits; it requires that scientific research
also be subject to rigorous oversight.
I realize there are moral and ethical issues surrounding this debate.
But I also realize that we're not talking about harvesting cells that
would've been used to create life and we're not talking about cloning
humans. We're talking about using stem cells that would have
otherwise been discarded and lost forever - and we're talking about
using those stem cells to possibly save the lives of millions of
Americans.
Democrats want this bill to pass. Conservative, pro-life Republicans
want this bill to pass. By large margins, the American people want
this bill to pass. It is only the White House standing in the way of
progress - standing in the way of so many potential cures.
I would only ask that the President thinks about this before he picks
up his pen to deliver his first veto in six years. I would ask that
he thinks about Ryan Schneider and his parents, and all the other
families who are sitting and waiting and praying for a cure - hoping
that somewhere, a researcher or scientist will find the answer.
There was a time in the middle of the last century when America
watched helplessly as a mysterious disease left thousands -
especially children - disabled for life. The medical community worked
tirelessly to try and find a cure, but they needed help - they needed
funding to make their research possible.
With a world war raging and the country still emerging from
depression, the federal government could have ignored their plight or
told them to find a cure on their own.
But that didn't happen. Instead, Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped
galvanize a community of compassion and organize the March of Dimes
to find the cure for polio. And while Roosevelt knew that his own
polio would never be cured by the discovery of a vaccine, he also
knew that at its best, government can be used as a force to
accomplish together what we cannot achieve on our own.
And so the people began to care and the dimes piled up and the
funding started to flow, and fifty years ago, Jonas Salk discovered
the polio vaccine.
Americans are looking for that kind of leadership today. All over the
country, patients and their families are waiting today for Congress
and the President to open the door to the cures of tomorrow. At the
dawn of the 21st century, we should approach this research with the
same passion and commitment that have led to so many cures and saved
so many lives throughout our history.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Thank you.
