H.H.S. Secretary Tommy Thompson's USA Today Opinion Editorials On Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Source: USA Today "Door to research is open" by Tommy Thompson
September 7, 2001

Door to research is open

By Tommy Thompson

President Bush opened the door to embryonic-stem-cell research in an ethical and morally sound manner.

The immediate challenge before us is to conduct the vital basic research. Before we can talk credibly about therapies for diseases, we must do the fundamental research to fully understand how those cells work. This basic research will take years, but can now occur with federal funding and an adequate supply of lines.

* There are 64 stem-cell lines that meet the eligibility requirements for federal funding. The president's decision was about whether to allow federal funding of embryonic-stem-cell research. He decided to allow research with existing stem-cell lines -- for which the life-and-death decisions had already been made -- but not to encourage the further destruction of human embryos. This was the standard. The National Institutes of Health has confirmed that there are 64 stem-cell lines. And from the beginning, administration officials made it clear that these stem-cell lines were in varying stages of development. The key, however, is that they are all eligible for federal funding.

* There are ample stem cells for basic research. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which owns five lines, says it has enough to supply every researcher with a federal grant. That's a powerful statement. The scientist who discovered this research is doing his work on just two lines.

* There is value in research at all stages. Very valuable basic research can be done on stem cells at all stages of development. Researchers will now be able to use federal dollars to work on further developing some of the existing lines.

* We need to get to work. We have a historic opportunity for research that did not exist at this level until now. Although we certainly want to seize the moment, we must not lose sight of the fact that the research we do must be conducted in an ethical manner. The only place we're going to find definitive answers to all of these questions is in the laboratory. The lab door is now open; let's get to work.

Tommy Thompson is secretary of Health and Human Services.


Source: USA Today "Why Bush's stem-cell policy is reasoned — and why it's working" by Tommy Thompson August 15, 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-08-15-stem-cells_x.htm

Why Bush's stem-cell policy is reasoned — and why it's working
By Tommy G. Thompson

As Americans, we cherish human life. We celebrate a pregnancy and the birth of a child as one of our greatest gifts. We also suffer when disease ravages and robs the life we so cherish.

But what happens when our respect for the sanctity of life collides with our desire to find therapies and cures for debilitating diseases? This is the dilemma our society wrestles with when it comes to human embryonic stem cells and their potential to treat, and perhaps cure, the most wretched diseases facing humankind.

Fair, compassionate and reasoned people can disagree on how to answer this question and resolve this dilemma. It's a tough issue that has generated renewed public discussion, and all viewpoints must be respected.

Federal funding: A first

Three years ago, President Bush made the decision to open, for the first time, the laboratory doors to federal funding for human-embryonic-stem-cell research. He determined, however, that federal funds should not be used to encourage or support the destruction of living human embryos, a principle that has been part of federal law since 1996. Funds would be made available for research derived from embryos that had already been destroyed. He placed no limits on private funding of research.

The president's policy is working. Federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research has grown from zero dollars in 2001 to $24.8 million now, with no cap on future funding. Most of the established U.S. scientists in this field have received funding, and shipments of stem-cell lines are going out to researchers in record numbers. More lines are available in the USA than in any other country.

At the same time, state governments and the private sector are supporting research outside the federal guidelines. One study estimates that 1,000 scientists at more than 30 firms spent $208 million experimenting on embryonic and adult stem cells in 2002.

Much important stem cell work is also being done without wrestling with the ethics of research on embryos. Last year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded $190 million in "adult" stem-cell research on, for example, cells from bone marrow or placental tissue.

Sowing false hopes

It is important for those on all sides of this debate to be sure not to make reckless promises that stem-cell research will immediately cure the world's diseases. Years of hard work must be done before the basic research of today possibly becomes viable treatments and cures in the future.

That is why we are taking two new steps to further accelerate research in this field:

The NIH will create a National Embryonic Stem Cell Bank that will provide a ready source of human embryonic stem cells to scientists, ensure quality of the lines and provide other technical support that will make it easier for scientists to use federally approved stem cells.

The NIH also will create at least three Centers of Excellence for Translational Stem Cell Research with the goal of exploiting discoveries in basic embryonic and stem-cell biology. The centers, funded through $18 million in grants over four years, will bring together stem-cell experts, disease experts and other scientists to explore ways stem cells may be used to treat a wide range of illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease and neurological disorders.

Both of these initiatives are under development.

The president's embryonic-stem-cell policy holds tremendous and yet-untapped potential, and we have much, much work to do within the policy, as it exists. Before anyone can successfully argue that the stem-cell policy should be broadened, we must first exhaust the potential of the stem-cell lines made available within the policy, as well as the ability of the private sector to go beyond the policy.

Stem-cell research holds great promise and hope. The president opened the door to federal funding for this research in a compassionate and ethical manner. And he continues to take aggressive steps to accelerate research in this field.

Tommy G. Thompson is secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.