Stem-cell debate may re-emerge in Nebraska

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By MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star

The debate over stem-cell research in Nebraska could heat up again soon.

On one side, many University of Nebraska Medical Center scientists are eager to see whether President-elect Barack Obama delivers on his promise to ease restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research. It’s a move, the scientists say, that could open the door to a host of new opportunities in medical research.

Opponents of the controversial research, meanwhile, are hoping NU’s governing board will step in to ensure that even if Obama does broaden stem-cell research, restrictions remain at UNMC.

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Dr. David Crouse, associate vice chancellor at UNMC

Dr. David Crouse, associate vice chancellor at UNMC

The NU Board of Regents’ current policy on stem-cell research says UNMC scientists must abide by federal guidelines in their work.

Under President George W. Bush, that has meant UNMC scientists can conduct embryonic stem-cell research only on stem-cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001.

But now Obama — who has vowed to lift Bush’s restrictions to allow federally funded research on new stem-cell lines — is about to assume the White House.

And with the recent election of Tim Clare, an embryonic stem-cell research opponent, to replace Charles Wilson, who supports the research, it appears opponents are now the majority on the NU Board of Regents.

Those changes may pave the way for a rekindled debate on stem cells in Nebraska.

“I think the ball is going to land in (the regents’) court,” said Chip Maxwell, executive director of the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research, which opposes embryonic stem-cell research.

“It certainly looks like federal policy is going to change … I think this will be the next phase of the debate: What are the regents going to do?”

Maxwell said his group plans to meet with regents soon to discuss the possibility of changing the board’s policy to ensure embryonic stem-cell research at UNMC does not expand under the Obama administration.

“We would argue there’s no reason Nebraska needs to partake in what we say is the wrong direction in stem-cell research,” Maxwell said. “We’d like to hold the line right where it is.”

Added Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life: “One would hope our pro-life regents would hold the line, even if federal funding is expanded.”

Whether the regents will act, though, remains to be seen.

“I haven’t heard anybody say they want to revisit the board’s policy,” said Regents Chairman Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons, a supporter of embryonic stem-cell research.

Furthermore, holding UNMC researchers back when much of the rest of the nation’s scientists could be allowed to push forward would have an extremely negative impact, said David Crouse, UNMC associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Continued restrictions could hurt UNMC’s recruitment and retention of top scientists and even its ability to compete for federal grant money, Crouse said.

“We want to be on a level playing field. We do want to be world-class,” he said. “We don’t want to be put at a disadvantage …

“(Restrictions) just wouldn’t be good for the advancement of science.”

Members of Obama’s transition team have indicated a change in stem-cell research policy could come swiftly, perhaps within the first 100 days of his presidency.

UNMC leaders understand Obama has plenty on his plate, namely two wars and a struggling economy, Crouse said. But they’re eager nonetheless.

“We’re all anxiously waiting,” he said. “We’d like to see a quick decision, but we know we have lots of things facing us as a country.”

The chance to use new stem-cell lines — harvested from embryos left over from fertility treatments — is alluring to scientists because the old lines are damaged and, in some cases, no longer functional, Crouse said.

Embryonic stem cells are “blank slates” that can grow into different kinds of tissue. Scientists believe that if they could control the cells, they could develop treatments for degenerative diseases such as  Parkinson’s.

But harvesting embryonic stem cells kills the embryo, a practice that violates opponents’ belief that a fertilized embryo is a human being. Opponents instead support medical research on adult stem cells, which do not have to be harvested from an embryo.

Crouse and Hassebrook noted that even if Obama expands embryonic stem-cell research, UNMC scientists — in keeping with LB606, a state law passed this year — still would not be able to create and destroy embryos at will.

Scientists simply would have access to new stem-cell lines from embryos in fertility clinics that would have been destroyed anyway.

“We’re not going to be in the business of creating new cell lines,” Hassebrook said. “We’d simply be using those that currently existed.”

The passage of LB606 is enough to satisfy at least one regent who opposes embryonic stem-cell research.

Regent Randy Ferlic of Omaha said he doesn’t expect the board to revisit its policy anytime soon.

“I have no concerns,” he said of what Obama’s election might mean for stem-cell research. “With the law that was passed, we’re not going to be killing embryos. That’s settled.”

Even so, Maxwell hopes Nebraska takes a stand.

If it doesn’t, he said, “we’d still be partaking in a system that encourages the destruction of embryos.”

Crouse hopes yet another debate on stem-cell research isn’t in store for Nebraska.

Still, he said: “I’m not one to predict politics.”

Hassebrook, for one, is enthusiastic about what possibilities are ahead.

“I’m excited because I think this is the kind of research that has the potential to save lives from the ravages of really horrible diseases,” he said. “I’m excited about the potential that this research has.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.