Fact Check

More Thoughts on Tonight’s Debate

Fact Check for Mr. Bush,

BUSH VS. REALITY - mouse feeder cells

BUSH CLAIMS: “Let me make sure you understand my decision. Those stem
cell lines already existed.” [Bush, 10/8/04]

REALITY: Bush-Approved Stem Cell Lines Unusable in Humans. The 19 viable
stem cell lines that Bush approved for federal research were all grown
on a “feeder layer” of mouse cells. Any attempt to transplant the cells
into humans for treatment would create a danger of passing mouse-borne
viruses into the recipient. [Boston Globe, 5/23/04; Rocky Mountain News,
4/27/04]

BUSH VS. REALITY - Stems Cells

BUSH VS. REALITY

BUSH CLAIMS: “I too hope that we'll discover cures from the stem cells,
from the research derived, but I think we have to be very careful in
balancing the ethics and the science…” [Bush, 10/8/04]

REALITY: Stem Cell Research has the Potential to Save Lives and Cure
Disease. Embryonic stem cell research has great potential to save lives
and cure disease. Today, more than 100 million American children and
adults suffer from incurable diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's,
Alzheimer's, heart disease, cancer, and spinal cord injuries. [Coalition
for the Advancement of Medical Research]

New Research Shows Compounds from Stem Cells Can Help Organs Repair
Themselves. “Embryonic stem cells, valued by researchers for their
ability to become any kind of tissue that a body might need, also
produce druglike compounds that can help ailing organs repair
themselves, scientists are reporting today. The new work offers the most
definitive evidence yet that the versatile cells, derived from embryos,
can help repair organs two ways: by filling in damaged areas -- the
primary focus of stem cell research to date -- and also by secreting
potent chemicals that can make tissues rejuvenate themselves. … ‘I think
these [stem] cells are more powerful than people had originally
imagined,’ said Robert Benezra, a molecular biologist at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who led the study with Diego
Fraidenraich.” [Washington Post, 10/8/04]

Nancy Reagan Has Called for Expanding Stem Cell Lines, Saying We Can’t
Lose Any More Time. In May 2004, Nancy Reagan told a fundraiser for the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation that stem cell research must be
pursued “to save families from the pain” of debilitating illnesses. “I
don't see how we can turn our backs on this,” she said. “We have lost so
much time. I just can't bear to lose any more.” [LA Times, 5/9/04]