[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 54 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4151-S4152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ALTERNATIVE PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL THERAPIES ENHANCEMENT ACT
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. Presidemt, I have sought recognition to cosponsor
and speak in support of legislation introduced by Senator Santorum
called the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act.
This bill would authorize research into deriving stem cells using
alternative methods that would not result in the destruction of a human
embryo.
This legislation, which Senator Santorum and I have drafted in close
partnership, represents a good faith effort to find common ground among
those who support human embryonic stem cell research and those who do
not. This bill is fully complementary to legislation that Senators
Harkin, Hatch, Feinstein, Smith, and Kennedy have introduced--the Stem
Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005--which would allow Federal
funding for research on additional human embryonic stem cell lines. It
will move forward research that could potentially eliminate the
objections that some have to embryonic stem cell research while
achieving the same goals. However, let me be clear, this legislation is
not a substitute for supporting H.R. 810, the House-passed version of
the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.
I believe medical research should be pursued with all possible haste
to cure the diseases and maladies affecting Americans. In my capacity
as Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations Subcommittee, I have backed up this belief by supporting
increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health. I have said
many times that the NIH is the crown jewel of the Federal Government--
perhaps the only jewel of the Federal government. When I came to the
Senate in 1981, NIH spending totaled $3.6 billion. In fiscal year 2006,
NIH received a little over $29 billion to fund its pursuit of life-
saving research. The successes realized by this investment in NIH have
spawned revolutionary advances in our knowledge and treatment for
diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease,
mental illnesses, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, ALS and many
others. It is clear to me that Congress's commitment to the NIH is
paying off. This is the time to seize the scientific opportunities that
lie before us, and to ensure that all avenues of research toward
cures--including stem cell research--are open for investigation.
In 1998, I learned of the discovery of human embryonic stem cells.
These cells have the ability to become any type of cell in the human
body. Another way of saying this is that the cells are pluripotent. The
consequences of this unique property of stem cells are far-reaching and
are key to their potential use in therapies. Scientists and doctors
with whom I spoke--and who have since testified before my
Appropriations Subcommittee at 17 stem cell-related hearings--were
excited by this discovery. They believed that these cells could be used
to replace damaged or malfunctioning cells in patients with a wide
range of diseases, This could lead to cures and treatments for maladies
such as Juvenile Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease,
cardiovascular diseases, and spinal cord injury.
Senator Harkin and I took the lead on making Federal funding
available for this promising research. On the issue of funding human
embryonic stem cell research, I along with Senators Harkin, Hatch,
Feinstein, Smith, and Kennedy are the Senate sponsors of the Stem Cell
Research Act of 2005, which we hope will soon be coming up for a vote
in the Senate. That critical bill would enable Federal funding of stem
cell research with new human embryonic stem cell lines.
Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that would otherwise
have been discarded. During the course of in vitro fertilization--IVF--
therapies, sperm and several eggs are combined in a laboratory to
create 4 to 16 embryos for a couple having difficulty becoming
pregnant. The embryos grow in an incubator for 5 to 7 days until they
contain approximately 100 cells. To maximize the chances of success,
several embryos are implanted into the woman. The remaining embryos are
frozen for future use. If the woman becomes pregnant after the first
implantation, and does not want to have more pregnancies, the remaining
embryos are in excess of clinical need and can be donated for research.
Embryonic stem cells are derived from these embryos--destroying the
embryo in the process. This process raises concerns for some, including
my distinguished colleague Senator Santorum.
[[Page S4152]]
Although I disagree with the calculus that embryos should be
discarded rather than used in research, I recognize and appreciate
these deeply felt objections. In fact, I took the lead on creating an
embryo adoption awareness campaign in fiscal year 2002, and continue to
include $2 million for that campaign in the HHS appropriation. If these
embryos are likely to be donated to families that cannot conceive, I
want this to be the first choice. However, with 400,000 frozen embryos
in IVF clinics around the country, the supply far exceeds the demand
and embryos are being discarded. Nonetheless, I want to pursue this and
other options to address the objections of some of my colleagues.
When the President's Council on Bioethics reported on several
theoretical methods for deriving stem cells without destroying embryos,
I immediately scheduled a hearing to investigate these ideas. On July
12, 2005, the Labor-HHS Subcommittee heard testimony from five
witnesses describing several theoretical techniques for deriving stem
cells without destroying embryos. All five witnesses supported moving
forward with the alternative methods without abandoning embryonic stem
cell research. The alternative stem cells would theoretically also have
the key ability to become any type of cell. Let me briefly mention
several of the techniques discussed at the hearing.
Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technologies claims to have derived
stem cells from a single cell extracted from 2-day-old, eight-celled
mouse embryos. This single cell is called a blastomere and its removal
from human embryos does not destroy the original embryo. Scientists
know a single cell can be taken from a 2-day-old embryo without
destroying it, because it is routinely done in pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis.
Dr. William Hurlbut, a Stanford University bioethicist, supports a
technique where a cloned embryo would be created whose DNA is mutated
such that it cannot develop into a baby. This altered embryo would be
destroyed for its stem cells. Since the embryo never had the potential
to produce a baby, some of the objections normally raised with
embryonic stem cell research would be circumvented.
Several scientists have suggested deriving stem cells from
technically dead embryos. When embryos frozen during in-vitro
fertilization are thawed, some never resume dividing and thus are
discarded.
Many scientists are attempting to turn back the clock on older cells
so they again become ``pluripotent,'' the scientific term for the
ability to turn into any tissue. Scientists already are trying to do
this to some degree through ``adult stem cell'' research, such as
turning blood-making cells into cells that produce liver or muscle
tissues.
The legislation, which Senator Santorum and I have drafted, is meant
to encourage these alternative methods for deriving stem cells without
harming human embryos. The act amends the Public Health Service Act by
inserting a section that:
(1) Mandates that the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
support meritorious peer-reviewed research to develop techniques for
the derivation of stem cells without creating or destroying human
embryos.
(2) Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines within 90 days to
implement this research and to identify and prioritize the next
research steps.
(3) Requires the Secretary to consider techniques outlined by the
President's Council on Bioethics, such as altered nuclear transfer and
single cell derivation.
(4) Requires the Secretary to report yearly on the activities carried
out under this authorization.
(5) Includes a ``Rule of Construction'' stating: ``Nothing in this
section shall be construed to affect any policy, guideline, or
regulation regarding embryonic stem cell research, human cloning by
somatic cell nuclear transfer, or any other research not specifically
authorized by this section.''
(6) Defines ``human embryo'' by reference to the latest definition
contained in the appropriations act for the Department of Health and
Human Services.
(7) Authorizes ``such sums as may be necessary'' for fiscal years
2007 through 2009.
Knowing that scientists never know exactly which research will lead
to the next great cure, I have always supported opening as many avenues
of research as possible. Based on that line of reasoning, I have always
supported human embryonic, adult, and cord blood stem cell research. My
goal is to see cures for the various afflictions that lower the quality
of life--or end the lives--of Americans.
The Santorum/Specter bill focuses attention on one of those avenues
of research. I must emphasize that this bill is not a substitute for
support of human embryonic stem cell research or support for H.R. 810.
The two bills are complementary in their scope and together will
advance our understanding of biomedical science and bring us another
step closer to the cures and treatment that we all desire.
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