Monday November 29, 2004

Switzerland Votes in Embryonic Stem Cell Research

BERNE, November 29, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fully two-thirds of Swiss voters were in favour of legalizing embryonic stem-cell research, according to a recent country-wide referendum.

The Swiss government, universities and the pharmaceutical industry all promoted a "yes" vote, according to the BBC. Opinion polls before the referendum indicated as many as 20 percent of voters were confused and unsure how they would cast their vote. In the end, 66 percent voted in favour of the destructive research.

Although stem cells derived from adult cells and umbilical cord blood have repeatedly demonstrated effectiveness for a wide array of conditions, stem cells derived from human embryos have never proven to have any clinical efficacy.

In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com last year, Dr. Peter Hollands, who holds a PhD in Stem Cell Biology from Cambridge University in the UK, said, "Embryonic stem cells have many legal, moral, ethical and religious objections before even the practicalities of obtaining the cells, growing them, storing them and not least transplanting them are addressed. Adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells are readily available, have no objections associated with them and are tried and tested in clinical use. Umbilical cord blood stem cells, for example, have been used over 3000 times for 45 different diseases!"

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Canadian Stem Cell Expert Speaks Out on Adult vs. Embryo Stem Cell Research
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/nov/03112001.html

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URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04112908.html

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