Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 8
Faith AMwel
Thursday, April 26. 2001
Why all this talk about
stem cells?
By Father Kevin FitzGerald, SJ
Catholic News Service
H ealth care is a great opportu
nity to share the gifts of love and
healing that God generously has
shared with us. Hence, the Roman
Catholic tradition always encourages
us to use our gifts of wisdom and
compassion to cre
ate new methods for
bringing healing to
those in need.
One area of re
cent medical re
search has raised
new hope for treat
ing serious illnesses
resulting from the
death or deteriora
tion of cells and tis
sues required for
good health.
These illnesses
include neurological
disorders such as
Parkinson’s and
Alzheimer’s, as well
as tragic injuries
such as paralysis
caused by damage
to a person’s brain
or nervous tissue.
The basis for this
new hope is a new
understanding of
human stem cells.
The normal func
tion of stem cells is
to produce new cells
and to replace cells
lost through the
natural processes of
cellular aging and death.
From the time a human being be
gins as a fertilized egg, that human
being grows and develops by cells con
tinually dividing to make more cells.
Early in our development, when we
are embryos, the function of most of
the cells is primarily to divide and
rapidly make more cells.
Embryonic stem cells have not yet
become any particular type of cell,
such as muscle or nerve. So embry
onic stem cells are thought to be ca
pable of becoming any type of cell in
the body.
As a human being continues to de
velop as a fetus, infant, child and
adult, the number of cells in the body
increases. During these later stages,
most of the cells stop dividing and
take on specific duties and become
brain cells, liver cells, skin cells, etc.
However, some cells keep their ability
to divide and replace other cells lost
due to damage or normal aging.
These stem cells generally are called
“adult” stem cells.
Until the past few years, adult
stem cells were thought to be found
only in certain tissues such as blood
and skin, and to have only the capac
ity to replace cells of the particular
tissue within which they were situ
ated.
Recent research now indicates that
adult stem cells are present in many,
if not almost all, tissues of the body,
including the brain. In addition,
adult stem cells are not limited to
replacing cells from only the type of
tissue in which they are found.
■ ■ ■
Since during embryonic develop
ment embryonic stem cells become all
the different types of cells in the body,
researchers speculate it should be pos
sible, eventually, to direct embryonic
harm to a patient by making the
wrong kind of cells in the treated
tissue or by growing out of control
and creating a tumor.
Much research on embryonic stem
cells is still required to ensure the
safety of these proposed treatments.
This research itself raises a moral
issue.
The key moral obstacle to embry
argue that frozen “spare” embryos,
left over from “in vitro” fertilization
treatments and not likely ever to be
used to produce a pregnancy, might
justifiably be destroyed to get embry
onic stem cells. However, in the
Catholic tradition no human life is
“spare.”
We do not consider it appropriate
to take organs from dying patients
or death-row prisoners before they'
have died in order to increase some
one else’s chances for healing or
cure.
■ ■ ■
This defense of human life does
not mean that all stem-cell research
e do not consider it
appropriate to take organs
from dying patients ... in
order to increase someone
else’s chances for healing or
cure. This defense of human
life does not mean that all
stem-cell research must be
rejected. Research on adult
stem cells should be en
couraged.”
in—— in mill hi ii mu
stem cells to produce whichever kind
of cell is needed.
But there are scientific and ethical
troubles with embryonic stem-cell re
search.
One scientific obstacle is the prob
lem of controlling the development of
the embryonic stem cells. Since these
cells have such a great ability to
make more cells of any kind, it is
important that researchers know
that no uncontrolled embryonic stem
cells are being implanted into a per
son.
An embryonic stem cell that has
not been converted into the type of
tissue desired could cause significant
FOODFORTHOUGHT
onic stem cell research is that cur
rently the only way embryonic stem
cells are obtained is by destroying an
embryo. Unlike tissue or organ trans
plantation, where organs are removed
after a person’s death, embryonic
stem cells are not harvested after the
embryo has died. The procedure for
removing stem cells from the embryo
destroys the embryo.
The Roman Catholic tradition
teaches that healing is a gift to make
available to all. It is not acceptable
that healing of some come at the cost
of others’ lives — no matter their
state in life.
In response to this teaching, some
must he rejected. Research on adult
stem cells should be encouraged, es
pecially in light of the new results
indicating its amazing promise for
treatment and cure.
For example, abundant blood stem«|
cells may be able to replace lost brain ^
cells or liver cells and vice versa.
The future of medical advance can
be one of great hope. The Catholic
tradition encourages us to pursue the
avenues of medical research that are
respectful of human life in all its
stages and bring God’s healing to all
in need.
(Jesuit Father FitzGerald, a ge-&
neticist and bioethicist, is an associ
ate professor at the Neiswanger In
stitute for Bioethics and Health
Policy at Loyola University of Chi
cago.)
I confess: I first learned about human stem cells while reading my daughter’s ninth-grade biology book a few
years ago. I was in my 50s! 1 guess I’m science-challenged.
We live in a science and technology era. There’s so much to know!
Technologically, I’m fairly adept at using the Internet. Do I understand its electronic workings? No. I just know
that it works.
But I think I know something else about the Internet. It’s going to affect how we human beings think and live —
for better or worse; we’re going to need to think about that, ask questions, evaluate it.
The same is true of scientific discoveries. They affect how we think and live; we need to think about them,
evaluate them.
But realistically, how much can each of us learn about the intricacies of science and technology? We can’t know it
all.
We can, however, adopt a questioning attitude toward scientific and technological wonders. Fortunately, they
often enhance human life. The challenge, it seems to me, is to be alert — ready to inquire whether or not that will
be the case in a given situation.
17 David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive!