Ten years ago, in the heat of the embryonic stem cell research debate, some pretty wild and irresponsible hype was used to justify destroying human embryos to use their stem cells for research. For example, during the 2004 Presidential election Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards said that if (pro-embryo research) John Kerry was elected president, “people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.”
Actor Michael J. Fox, another longtime champion of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, in testimony before a Senate subcommittee in 2000, referred to the “miraculous potential” of human embryonic stem cells and claimed that the “consistent and inescapable conclusion is that this research offers a potential to eliminate diseases -- literally save millions of lives.”
Fox also was a vocal supporter of California’s 2004 Proposition 71, which appropriated $3 billion of state funds to be used for hESC research and established the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In a television ad Fox declared “[Prop] 71 will support research to find cures for diseases that affect millions of people ... including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Please support the effort to find cures by voting Yes on 71. It could save the life of someone you love.”
What a difference 10 years makes. In a May 2012 interview with Michael J. Fox, Diane Sawyer referred to hESC research as “this is the promise, this is the future.” Fox responded by saying “the other avenues of research have grown and multiplied and have become as much or more promising. So an answer may come from stem cell research but it’s more likely to come from another area.”
As for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the $3 billion of taxpayer money it was appropriated, the trajectory of where the money is being spent says a lot about the future of stem cell research. In 2009, the first year research grants were offered, of the 15 grants awarded, nine were for hESCR and six went to research using non-embryonic stem cells.
One year later, the second round of grants shifted dramatically with 12 grants going to non-embryonic stem cell research and only five projects were funded using hESCs. This trend continued in the third round of grants in 2012, with 15, or just over 70% of the 21 total grants awarded going to non-embryonic stem cell research and only six grants going to hESCR projects.
In the fourth round of grants announced in August 2013, the percentage of grants going to non-embryonic stem cell research increased to 77% (10 out of 13). The number of grants given to hESCR in 2013 fell to just 15% of the total.
Furthermore, in 2012, CIRM changed its mission from giving funding priority to hESCR and cloning for research, to giving priority to stem cell research with the best chance of leading to clinical trials.
Despite this attempt to shift its focus to non-embryonic stem cell research which has much more promise for resulting in cures for some diseases, CIRM has a tough sell to get the taxpayers of California to renew its funding. Even the San Francisco Chronicle–a very enthusiastic cheerleader for Proposition 71, recently editorialized that the public spigot should be turned off.
In “Stem Cell Agency Hasn’t Lived Up to its Hype” the paper said “the institute’s operations over the past decade haven’t inspired the confidence California voters would need to offer the agency more money. The agency will need to rely on private investment if it’s to continue its mission.”
Sadly, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its acolytes at “Research Nebraska” continue to demagogue the issue of stem cell research. In a recent political mailer, Research Nebraska endorses candidates for the Nebraska Legislature it says “support stem cell research,” by which it really means embryonic stem cell research.
The piece also says “Stem cell research is the key to finding cures.” But it grossly misleads the public by failing to acknowledge that those cures are more likely to come from non-embryonic stem cells than from embryonic stem cells. If you want to help promote ethical research, I urge you to join the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research. Contact them online at www.ethicalresearch.net or call 402-690-2299.
