New stem cell methods seek to break ethical impasse

Opponents of human embryonic stem cell research say the techniques fail to address their concerns.

By Kevin B. O'Reilly, AMNews staff. Nov. 14, 2005.

Two papers published Oct. 16 in Nature's online edition proposed new methods of extracting stem cells from mouse embryos without destroying the embryos, an attempt to address the ethical concerns of those who believe the established method of deriving stem cells destroys human life.

"The most basic objection to embryonic stem cell research is the fact that embryos are deprived of any further potential to develop into a complete human being," Robert Lanza, MD, medical director for Advanced Cell Technology, Worcester, Mass., and a senior author of one of the Nature studies, said in a statement. "We have shown in a mouse model that you can generate embryonic stem cells using a method that does not interfere with the developmental potential of the embryo."

While critics of human embryonic stem cell research said they're open to new methods, neither of the proposed workarounds met their approval.

Gene Rudd, MD, associate executive director for the Christian Medical and Dental Assns., said that embryonic stem cell research was acceptable in animals but that the new techniques were still ethically problematic.

"Both of these strategies fell short," Dr. Rudd said. "Is it ethical to create a human embryo that has lethal defect? Is it fair to extract one cell from an eight-cell human embryo knowing that the one cell that is removed is totipotential, not pluripotential, and maybe should be deemed to have the same moral status as a fertilized ovum?"