WASHINGTON, July 26, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The lobbying over embryonic stem cell research has stooped to manipulation involving a video demonstrating the results of a stem cell study on paralyzed rats that regain some function in their legs. The video is being promoted by advocates of embryonic stem cell research funding as key evidence to persuade President Bush to decide pro-funding. However, the study in the video does not involve the type of stem cells in question in the funding debate – a critical fact being withheld in media coverage.
The study, led by Drs. John Gearhart and Douglas Kerr of Johns Hopkins University, injected paralyzed rats with human stem cells harvested from five-week-old to nine-week-old aborted babies. This research, while revolting to many, is already legal in the United States and thus can be federally funded. The only research that cannot currently be funded is research involving the destructive use of frozen human embryos, which were created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) for fertility treatments.
In a move the London Times referred to as a break “with standard scientific practice”, the Johns Hopkins scientists released the video even though the study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The Times reports that the early release was allowed “in the hope that it will convince President Bush of the value of stem cell technology.” The video was shown to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson earlier this month and also to Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who is undecided on the federal funding issue.
Michael Manganiello, a vice president of government affairs for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, a pro-embryonic stem cell research lobby group, said, “I wish the President would see this tape”. “When you see a rat going from dragging his hind legs to walking, it's not that big a leap to look at Christopher Reeve, and think how this might help him,” he said.
Wesley J. Smith, author of the award winning book, Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America, lashed out at the misleading use of the study and its video. “This is another blatant case of media pap mentality and bias in reporting,” said Smith. He argued that the Gearhart study video was a “blatant attempt to impact the debate by mixing apples and oranges.” He explained that as opposed to embryo research, “no life was destroyed specifically for this experiment and the tissue used came from fetuses rather than embryos.”
Dr. Dianne N. Irving, a former research biochemist for the National Institutes of Health, has been following the stem cell issue for decades. Dr. Irving confirmed that the fetal stem cells used in Gearhart's study are not at stake in the decision President Bush is considering. She noted that the stem cells Gearhart used would likely be covered under existing regulations on fetal tissue transplants, and could be publicly funded. Irving, a PhD philosopher who has taught medical ethics at Georgetown and Catholic Universities, agreed that presenting the video to lobby Bush on this issue was misleading since, “the legality of these neurons is not even part of the debate.”
Smith expressed frustration with the misleading tactics of the proponents of embryonic stem cell research. “Winning a debate on facts is one thing, but this debate is full of propaganda and misstatement of biological science.” He suggested that they seem to be working under the motto, “If you don't like the facts, create your own narrative.”
Yesterday Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, said that the president believes the decision on whether or not to federally fund embryonic stem cell research is “as momentous as a president declaring war.”