By PAUL R. SANBERG and CESAR V. BORLONGAN
Special to the Tribune
Published: September 2010
The recent ruling that halts the expansion of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research points to the need for an independent Stem Cell Ethics Research Consortium.
What stem cell science needs, and what Americans should demand, is better guidance for regulatory agencies, legal and policy-making bodies. The discussion of emerging technologies for stem cell-based therapies often is driven by conflict rather than facts.
Although the lack of effective communication between scientists and the public has taken place largely in the media, an “honest broker” may be useful because the most strident opinions often are the only ones heard.
Cell-based therapies have been around for a century, but controversy heightened in the late 20th century when human fetal tissue from elective or spontaneous abortions was used as donor cells for transplantation to treat Parkinson’s disease.
The failure of the scientific community to address the controversy has helped create today’s heated yet poorly informed debate. This inadequacy regarding clarification of stem cell science ethics helped foster public misperceptions that have hindered the progress of innovation.
As a result, potentially life-saving treatments have been delayed and, in some cases, impeded.
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