Expansionary Institute

British Vote To Expand Embryo Work—Germany, Archbishop of Westminster Attack Embryo Research,

British Vote To Expand Embryo Work—Germany, Archbishop of Westminster Attack Embryo Research

British Vote To Expand Embryo Work

By EMMA ROSS
.c The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - British lawmakers have passed a measure that would relax the rules limiting medical research on human embryos, rejecting opponents' claims that the move is a step toward permitting the cloning of human beings.

The measure passed Tuesday has not yet completed the legislative process. But if it becomes law, it effectively would enable scientists to clone embryos and keep them alive for up to 14 days to extract so-called stem cells - the unprogrammed master cells found in early stage embryos that can turn into nearly every cell type in the body. Cell-based treatments are expected to open a new chapter of medicine, raising the hope of prevention or cure for ailments from Parkinson's disease to diabetes.

The amendment to the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act passed 366 to 174 in the House of Commons. Before the vote, government officials downplayed the connection between the change and concerns about human cloning.

``Parliament is not being asked to cross the Rubicon today,'' said Public Health Minister Yvette Cooper. ``Human reproductive cloning is illegal and must stay illegal.''

The legislation now goes to the unelected upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords, which can delay legislation but can be overruled by the government.

Opponents of the move, including anti-abortion and religious groups, said lawmakers had failed to consider the ethical implications of the decision.

``Cloning, even for therapeutic purposes, is a new form of human reproduction with massive moral implications,'' said Archbishop of Westminster Cormac Murphy O'Connor, head of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales.

``As a society, do we really want to make this dangerous leap without much more thought and reflection?'' he asked. ``I hope that the House of Lords will reject these proposals.''

Research and patient groups, though, applauded the decision.

``In future, stem cell research may lead to the development of new treatments for heart diseases and may even allow hearts or other tissue to be grown for transplantation,'' said Sir Charles George, medical director of the British Heart Foundation. ``We are a long way from reaching these goals, which is why stem cell research must be fully explored.''

The existing law permits research using donated human embryos only for strictly limited purposes, including studies on infertility and the detection of genetic abnormalities. The change would extend the law so that early stage embryos could also be used for research into diseases that emerge in adulthood.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, which polices embryo research, has said it would not license any research aimed at producing cloned babies. But it has promised to consider cloning applications for specific types of research on embryos up to 14 days old. Stem-cell research would inevitably involve cloning of embryos, because the goal is to treat patients with perfectly matching tissue.

An embryo is essentially a ball of stem cells that evolves into a fetus when the stem cells start specializing to create a nervous system, spine and other features - at about 14 days. Scientists hope that by extracting the stem cells from the embryo when it is three or four days old, their growth can be directed in a lab to become any desired cell or tissue type for transplant.

The hope is that one day it will be possible to grow neurons to replace nerve cells in a brain killed by Parkinson's disease, skin to repair burns and pancreatic cells to produce insulin for diabetics.

Scientists would create a clone of a sick patient by removing the nucleus of a donor egg and replacing it with that of a cell from the patient. The egg would be induced to divide and start growing into an embryo. The cloned cells would be genetically identical to the patient's and therefore theoretically overcome problems of transplant rejection, which happens because the immune system fights foreign tissue.

AP-NY-12-20-00 0041EST

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

UK embryo "cannibalism" slammed in Germany

By Mark John

BERLIN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - German officials ruled out on Wednesday any plans to follow a British move to permit research on human embryos, with one calling the technology "cannibalism" and demanding European Union action.

Germany, which covets Britain's position as European leader in biotechnology, currently bans the production of human embryos and has urged its scientists to focus human cell research efforts on other less controversial technologies.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, in a newspaper article written before the vote approving the measure in the British parliament on Tuesday, urged against "ideological taboos" but said the case for using human embryos in research was not proven.

Hubert Hueppe, deputy chairman of parliament's ethics committee, said the British move to allow stem cells from human embryos to be used in developing new medical treatments breached a European-wide consensus on fundamental human rights.

"To breed a human being, only to kill it, disembowel it and impregnate something with it -- that's basically cannibalism," Hueppe, an opposition conservative, told German Radio.

"One should consider European Union sanctions against Britain," he said. "If this isn't good reason to intervene, then any talk of common European values is meaningless."

Rejecting arguments the research could pave the way to cures for degenerative diseases like leukaemia and heart disease, Hueppe accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of being "more interested in its business possibilities."

TABOO FROM NAZI ERA REMAINS

In a free vote on Tuesday, British parliamentarians backed proposals by a majority of more than two to one to permit research on embryo stem cells, the master cells that can develop into different cell types such as blood, brain and bones.

Blair strongly backs the technology, which some scientists see as offering greater potential for human benefit than alternatives such as research based on blood cells taken from the umbilical cord at birth and from adult tissue.

Opponents say the creation in a laboratory even of an early embryo, known as a blastocyst, is morally unacceptable and will lead ultimately to the cloning of full humans.

The German government recently launched cross-party consultations on changes to its 10-year-old laws on gene research, which many say are outdated.

But while there is growing interest here in relaxing rules, there are still deep taboos against gene research in a country which recalls Nazi moves to create a "master race" and kill the handicapped and those whose genes were deemed worthless.

In Brussels, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin welcomed the fact that the technology was being discussed openly and said the balance between its potential benefits and ethical considerations needed to be addressed.

"We need a dialogue between science and society in Europe on this progress in life sciences, the ethical questions raised, and how to responsibly use the research results," he said in a brief statement.

Schroeder, whose government recently said it would invest some 350 million marks ($160 million) in human gene research in the next three years, also urged further debate on an area he sees as a potential job creator.

"Adopting a policy based on ideological taboos and bans on principle would be unrealistic," he said in a contribution for Die Woche newspaper in which he compared developments in gene research to the landing of the first man on the moon.

"(But) I agree with the German research community that we should not follow calls for a loosening of the ban on the use of embryonic stem cells until the biological potential of adult cells for medicine is better understood," he wrote.

A federal science ministry official said draft legislation would be launched next year but said it was unlikely the current ban on embryo production would be lifted.

"I do not believe the government will suggest therapeutic cloning should be legal in Germany," Wolf-Michael Catenhusen, Science Ministry state secretary, told West German Radio.

07:44 12-20-00

Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Top British Catholic attacks embryo research

LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The leader of Britain's Catholics launched an impassioned assault on Wednesday on a controversial move by politicians to allow research using cells from human embryos.

On Tuesday night MPs backed proposals by a majority of more than two to one to allow scientists to take cells from embryos at a very early stage. Prime Minister Tony Blair was in favour.

Opponents say the decision is the start of a slippery slope towards human cloning. The government argues it could help develop cures for a range of killer diseases.

Britain is the first European country to make the move.

"I was gravely concerned at the result of the vote last night. Where is this morally wrong road going to end?" the Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy O'Connor, asked.

"Embryos are the beginning of human life and entitled to respect. After all, where did you and I begin?"

Scientists believe stem cell therapy offers enormous potential to treat and cure degenerative disorders and illnesses -- ranging from Parkinson's, diabetes and cancers to leukaemia, hepatitis and stroke -- by replacing diseased cells or tissue.

But because it involves cloning and research on human embryos it has infuriated pro-life groups and sparked a fiery debate about how far scientists should interfere with nature.

Stem cells are master cells that can develop into different cell types such as blood, brain and bones.

But to become law the vote must be ratified by the House of Lords, parliament's upper chamber, which over the past year has voted down government proposals dozens of time.

The archbishop urged a repeat performance. "I sincerely hope that when it goes to the House of Lords, it will be overturned," he told BBC radio.

06:47 12-20-00

Wed Dec 20