Last weekend, January 13^th to be exact, C-Span’s Washington Journal served up a classic stem cell debate.  In one corner was the Anti-Cures mouthpiece, David Prentice.  Across the table was Dr. Steven Teitelbaum of the Washington University School of Medicine.  Since Teitelbaum was among the trio that debunked Prentice’s “list of 65 (sometimes 72) diseases successfully treated by adult stem cells” this promised to be an interesting show.
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Since most politicians understand that the severe restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research hasn’t saved a single embryo from "destruction" yet, their continued opposition to expanded federal funding of ESCR is purely symbolic in nature.

Thousands of left over blastocysts as small as the period at the end of this sentence continue to be "destroyed" at In Vitro fertilization clinics unimpeded, in spite of the "Snow Flake" embryo adoption program, which though much hyped has had very limited success.

Just compare the total of less than 100 snow flake babies, some of which President Bush likes to surround himself with when he vetoes hope for millions of people living with horrendous medical conditions, to the 400,000 blastocysts still remaining in freezers at In Vitro Fertilization clinics all across the US.
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He had ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).
I never met the man, but I was moved and inspired by the courage and dignity with which he handled his illness. I am told that in spite of surely unbearable pain, he went about making the necessary plans for his family, his finances, and his belongings, so that everything was “in order” at the end.

I am no expert on ALS, but I know enough about it to know that it makes my own disease (Parkinson’s) look like a picnic by comparison. Living with ALS is terrible; dying of it is terrible; according to my neighbor and others, the end, when it finally comes, is a relief and a release. My neighbor’s brother didn’t eat or drink anything for the last two weeks of his life. His family was grateful for this, because it meant that he didn’t choke to death, which is apparently very common for ALS patients, and very painful for both the patient and his loved ones. Instead, he died quietly in his brother’s arms, in the presence of other family members, knowing on some level that he was with people who loved him very much, and whom he had loved.

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The republican faction of the Florida delegation clearly is still in lockstep with president Bush.

While the House overwhelmingly passed The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, HR 3, there were unfortunately 13 Florida Representatives who voted on the wrong side of science, and out of step with their own constituents.

The Florida delegation voted 13-12 against this crucial legislation, which has seen real bipartisan support in passing the House on a 253 to 174 vote.

If our Florida representatives truly represented the will of their constituents rather than the call to lockstep partisanship, there would have only been 8 NO votes reflecting the stubborn 30% minority ideological opposition on this issue. 
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You’ve heard it before…….., the claim that ESCR "has produced no cures yet, but ASCR has." Of course it’s rediculous to compare results in ESCR, which has been deprived of federal funding for the past 8 years ( since hESC’s were first derived),  to the results of ample federal funding of ASCR during the past 30 years.

BUT, there actually is a human ESCR application poised to take place in 2007! That has been the amazing thing,……a private company has struggled along without federal funding to show that ESCR can produce very viable treatments. And they did it first for one of the most devastating conditions of all: spinal cord injury.

And don’t you think it is fitting that this news comes almost exactly 7 years after Christopher Reeve’s 2000 visionary superbowl commercial?

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Langevin’s mystery guest: Michael J. Fox

The word is out.

Rep. James R. Langevin has released the name of the "mystery guest" who will accompany him to President Bush’s State of the Union address next week.

Longtime actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, will join Rhode Island’s junior congressman for the Jan. 23 high-profile speech.
"Congressman Langevin is a tireless champion for the advancement of medical research, and I am honored to join him next week at the State of the Union," said Michael J. Fox in a statement released by Langevin’s office. "Jim has been a leader in the recent passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. I have often said diseases and disorders are a non-partisan issue that requires a bi-partisan solution. Jim Langevin is part of that solution."

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