GOP Vs. National Health Agency
This column was written by Chris Mooney.
During the recent House of Representatives debate on embryonic stem-cell research, there were many moments that made you want to wince, but none rivaled a truly ridiculous statement by pro-life Representative Henry Hyde. "I myself am a 992-month-old embryo," Hyde declared, in a speech opposing a bipartisan bill to loosen the president's strict limitations on research funding. Alas, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would vigorously disagree with Hyde's statement. A medical glossary provided on the agency's very useful website devoted to embryonic stem-cell research defines an embryo as "the developing organism from the time of fertilization until the end of the eighth week of gestation, when it becomes known as a fetus." So although I hate to break it to him, it appears that Hyde hasn't actually been an embryo for going on 990 months now. You'd think someone would have told him.
Hyde's silly statement was, unfortunately, typical of the recent stem-cell debate. In arguing against expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research -- a position that has now become such a loser that 50 Republicans switched sides on the issue, and the House sent a stinging 238 to 194 rebuke to President George W. Bush -- the GOP leadership repeatedly contradicted basic medical information that is conveyed quite prominently by the nation's renowned biomedical research agency. But what Republican leaders like Tom DeLay conspicuouslydidn't do was provide any reason for us not to trust this taxpayer-supported agency, which members of Congress themselves generously vote to fund each year.
The flouting of NIH's authority occurred most frequently as House Republican leaders sought to make the widely discredited argument that research on "adult" and umbilical cord stem cells can supplant research on embryonic ones. During the May 24 House floor debate, David Weldon, a physician, confidently declared: "[I]f you actually read the medical journals, the promise and the potential appear to be in the ethically acceptable alternatives of adult stem research and cord-blood research."
Now, let's turn to the actual medical authority on this matter. In its stem-cell FAQ, NIH poses this question: "Which research is best to pursue?" Then the agency answers: "Given the enormous promise of stem cells therapies for so many devastating diseases, NIH believes that it is important to simultaneously pursue all lines of research and search for the very best sources of these cells." Moreover, in the very next question, the agency makes the point still more explicit. This time, NIH asks: "Why not use adult stem cells instead of using human embryonic stem cells in research?" and then replies:
Human embryonic stem cells are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells. This means that embryonic stem cells may be pluripotent -- that is, able to give rise to cells found in all tissues of the embryo except for germ cells rather than being merely multipotent -- restricted to specific subpopulations of cell types, as adult stem cells are thought to be.
It doesn't sound like David Weldon is very accurately reflecting the state of medical knowledge as set forth by the NIH. Of course, perhaps the NIH itself is guilty of providing the nation with misinformation. But if that were the case, you would expect to hear House Republicans like Weldon clamoring to have its funding cut or calling for heads to roll at the agency. On the contrary, Weldon himself sits on the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees -- that's right -- funding for the National Institutes of Health. Strange, no?
The American Prospect During the recent House of Representatives debate on embryonic stem-cell research, there were many moments that made you want to wince, but none rivaled a truly ridiculous statement by pro-life Representative Henry Hyde. "I myself am a 992-month-old embryo," Hyde declared, in a speech opposing a bipartisan bill to loosen the president's strict limitations on research funding. Alas, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would vigorously disagree with Hyde's statement. A medical glossary provided on the agency's very useful website devoted to embryonic stem-cell research defines an embryo as "the developing organism from the time of fertilization until the end of the eighth week of gestation, when it becomes known as a fetus." So although I hate to break it to him, it appears that Hyde hasn't actually been an embryo for going on 990 months now. You'd think someone would have told him.
Hyde's silly statement was, unfortunately, typical of the recent stem-cell debate. In arguing against expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research -- a position that has now become such a loser that 50 Republicans switched sides on the issue, and the House sent a stinging 238 to 194 rebuke to President George W. Bush -- the GOP leadership repeatedly contradicted basic medical information that is conveyed quite prominently by the nation's renowned biomedical research agency. But what Republican leaders like Tom DeLay conspicuouslydidn't do was provide any reason for us not to trust this taxpayer-supported agency, which members of Congress themselves generously vote to fund each year.
The flouting of NIH's authority occurred most frequently as House Republican leaders sought to make the widely discredited argument that research on "adult" and umbilical cord stem cells can supplant research on embryonic ones. During the May 24 House floor debate, David Weldon, a physician, confidently declared: "[I]f you actually read the medical journals, the promise and the potential appear to be in the ethically acceptable alternatives of adult stem research and cord-blood research."
Now, let's turn to the actual medical authority on this matter. In its stem-cell FAQ, NIH poses this question: "Which research is best to pursue?" Then the agency answers: "Given the enormous promise of stem cells therapies for so many devastating diseases, NIH believes that it is important to simultaneously pursue all lines of research and search for the very best sources of these cells." Moreover, in the very next question, the agency makes the point still more explicit. This time, NIH asks: "Why not use adult stem cells instead of using human embryonic stem cells in research?" and then replies:
Human embryonic stem cells are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells. This means that embryonic stem cells may be pluripotent -- that is, able to give rise to cells found in all tissues of the embryo except for germ cells rather than being merely multipotent -- restricted to specific subpopulations of cell types, as adult stem cells are thought to be.
It doesn't sound like David Weldon is very accurately reflecting the state of medical knowledge as set forth by the NIH. Of course, perhaps the NIH itself is guilty of providing the nation with misinformation. But if that were the case, you would expect to hear House Republicans like Weldon clamoring to have its funding cut or calling for heads to roll at the agency. On the contrary, Weldon himself sits on the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees -- that's right -- funding for the National Institutes of Health. Strange, no?
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