Governor Jim Doyle: Unlock the Potential of Stem Cell Research

The time has come to reexamine the federal policy on stem
cell research.

Wisconsin finds itself at the center of this debate, because
our state is the birthplace of human embryonic stem cell research. In
1998,
Dr. Jamie Thomson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced that
his
team of researchers had, for the first time, successfully isolated stem
cells from human embryos and grown them in five self-sustaining cell
lines.

Since that time, most of the world has awoken to the
potential of stem cell research to cure some of the deadliest diseases
facing humanity and ease the suffering of millions of citizens.

But in 2001, President Bush instituted restrictions on stem
cell research that have significantly slowed scientific progress.

The President said that stem cell lines created before his
speech could be used in federally funded research. But for some totally
arbitrary and unexplained reason, those created after his speech could
not
be used.

Of the 78 lines the President promised were then in
existence, the Bush Administration has already admitted that more than 30
will never be available. Only 19 are now available, and all of these are
contaminated with mouse cells and may not be suitable for clinical use.

In fact, President Bush’s own appointee – the Director of
the National Institutes of Health – recently admitted that more stem cell
lines are needed to speed up the pace of research.

The United States – and Wisconsin in particular – is clearly
the world leader in stem cell research. But other countries are catching
up
fast. The President’s restrictions are hampering our ability to compete,
and untold numbers of jobs could soon be lost overseas because other
countries recognize the potential of this research.

At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Thomson has access to a
highly advanced scientific laboratory. But the Bush policy has forced
him
to spend his time raising private money to build a separate, private lab
at
another location to derive new stem cell lines for research.

But privately funded research isn’t the answer. For one
thing, there isn’t nearly enough private research money available to
promote
the full development of this science. A federally funded medical
breakthrough by a University would be shared with the world for the
benefit
of everyone. A privately funded one would become the property of a
private
corporation.

The ban on federal funding for research on new stem cell
lines must be overturned. Federal policy should instead allow for the
development of new stem cell lines, based on cells from fertility clinics
that would otherwise be discarded. This would give our researchers
access
to enough stem cells to move the science forward.

It is time for the federal government to make a much
stronger commitment to this research. President Bush wants to spend $12
billion on a mission to Mars. Think what could be accomplished if we
would
use that money instead to launch a new mission of scientific discovery
here
on earth that would improve the lives of millions of people all over the
world. The bold new frontier we must conquer in the next decade exists
not
in the far reaches of space, but laboratories of our Universities and
great
research institutions.

This should not be a partisan issue. A bipartisan majority
of the U.S. Senate – 58 Senators – and more than 200 members of Congress
have signed letters calling on the President to reconsider his policy.
Some
are strongly pro-life, others are strongly pro-choice, but all are united
in
the belief that politics should not get in the way of this science.

But we could have no more compelling champion of stem cell
research than former First Lady Nancy Reagan. She has spoken eloquently,
and convincingly, that it is time to let science go forward. America
should
listen to her.

My mother suffers from Parkinson disease. Our family is no
different from the Reagans or millions of others across this nation who
have
seen a loved one afflicted with Alzheimer’s, juvenile diabetes, cancer,
spinal cord injuries or other conditions that stem cell research could
one
day cure.

I understand that it is probably too late for my mother.
But I do not understand why anyone would stand in the way of research
that
could ease the suffering of so many people.

As many as one million Americans suffer from Parkinson
disease. They should not have to suffer any more delays in the research
that could save their lives.

About 50,000 people die in a year from Alzheimer’s. Don’t
we owe it to their families to develop a cure as fast as we can?

More than 200,000 Americans under age 20 have diabetes. How
long should they have to wait?

It is time to get the politics out of the way so that the
march of science and medical innovation can go forward.