Stem-cell research means life, not death

Some will say the end result of a fertilized egg is either a live human baby or a dead one. Not true. First, no baby is possible without implantation. If implanted, the fertilized egg becomes an embryo. Second, embryonic stem-cell research does not harvest embryos. To harvest an implanted egg is to perform an abortion. Stem cells obtained from an aborted embryo are less than optimal, so are not desired in the research. During the four- to five-day period preceding implantation, the fertilized egg, called a pre-embryo or blastocyte, may divide up to eight times, yielding 256 cells measuring one-tenth of a millimeter in size. Some of these become the embryonic stem cells (ESCs). ESCs develop by natural means, before implantation, and can be observed dividing in a petri dish at in vitro fertilization clinics where hopeful parents, unable to conceive under normal circumstances, donate sperm and eggs that may fertilize in a petri dish. In either case, the chances of implantation are less than a coin toss. From 400,000 frozen pre-embryos, to be discarded at IVF clinics, about 70 had already been harvested and developed into stem-cell lines approved by President George W. Bush on Aug. 9, 2001, for continued stem-cell research funding by the federal government. Five years later, the first veto of his presidency was to prohibit the Congressionally passed legislation to use more IVF pre-embryos for ESC research, rather than to discard them. Discarding IVF pre-embryos is parallel to the miscarriage of normal pre-embryos. Without implantation a pre-embryo does not become an embryo or a fetus, has no beating heart, no brain, thus no awareness of a conscious identity is possible to the pre-embryo. The veto was used as a bulwark to retain voters who are in accord with words that Mr. Tony Snow, the White House press spokesman, used to explain the veto: That Mr. Bush believes ESC research is murder. Of course, that statement was retracted, for it implies that IVF employees and their clients could be prosecuted for discarding the blastocytes. Discarded blastocytes may contain useful stem cells. The probability of useful stem cells in this case is considerably less than the 50 percent in the natural process. But these are scheduled for destruction. So unless donor parents give legal permission to allow the implantation of their fertilized eggs into surrogate mothers, the chances are zero for these blastocytes to ever become babies. Thus, there is no denial of life to unborn babies -- because only the implanted blastocyte has some chance to become a baby. It's a no-brainer: Destroy 400,000 blastocytes or allow embryonic stem-cell research to proceed, along with adult stem-cell research, to determine which of these two paths will be best suited for curing disease and treating the central nervous system traumas that are sustained by the living millions who may suffer from stroke, accident or combat wounds. Thus, to value life and to ease your mind, you or yours may be the beneficiaries of embryonic stem-cell research, without loss of a single baby. The veto will not stand. Dr. Charles A. Andrade holds a Ph.D. in engineering physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed post-retirement studies in general biology specifically to understand the human reproduction aspects of embryonic stem-cell research. He was former head of theoretical aerodynamics at Chrysler Missile Division, visiting scientist at Cornell University and Senior Research Scientist at Martin Marietta, Orlando Division. He retired in 1999. Published in the Daily Herald, August 9, 2006