Doctor urges stem cell clarity
(wz) Gary Culliton speaks to a top Harvard scientist who claims a legal ‘black hole’ means Ireland is missing out on a huge research opportunity.
The Irish Council for Bioethics this week launched its report on stem cell research, which has increased pressure on the government to clarify the legal situation in this area and in relation to in vitro fertilisation.
The central question is not ‘when is the embryo alive or human?’, Dr Stephen Sullivan, an Irish-born Fellow at Harvard University, told Irish Medical Times. “It is clearly both. But then again, so is liver tissue used for transplants. Rather the question is ‘is this embryo a person?’. My personal opinion is an embryo that is made by fusing an egg and sperm in a dish is not a person. Without access to a womb, it can never develop into a pregnancy or a foetus, which I do consider to be human when the central nervous system develops, and there is pain perception and early consciousness.”
Previous publishings of the Council have made a distinction between pre-implantation and post-implantation embryos (only the latter should have the legal status of ‘unborn’, the Council believes). “Decisions about embryonic research now facing Ireland were made in most European countries twenty years ago. This step is long overdue,” Dr Sullivan said.
Prof Frank Barry, of University College Galway’s Remedi Institute, says all of Irish society must decide on the issue, not just a small group. Prof Barry believes that embryonic stem cell research is likely to be more effective than adult stem cell research, in relation to neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and diseases of the pancreas, because of the developmental biology of these cells.
There needs to be clear legal guidelines for IVF, with a view to securing the rights of the women involved, Dr Sullivan believes. “The hoax bombs sent to IVF clinics and death threats to Ministers have left people quite scared.” more…
From: »The Irish Medical Times«