Also, the reason I asked about the In Vitro stuff is because I saw it mentioned above and was genuinely curious about it.
To argue a position, you should first understand it.
I think you'll find that most of us who do support ES cell research categorically do not support the wanton fertilization and maintenance of human embryos solely to harvest stem cells, destroying the embryo in the process. Not only is that extremely wasteful, it's unethical.
However, as we have all been saying, there are literally thousands of human embryos destroyed around the world every year as waste from IVF treatments. A good number of these are destroyed because genetic screening has found problems with the embryo (unable to develop to term, or severe genetic illness), but there are many that are healthy embryos that are simply discarded as surplus. Instead, most ES cell research proponents would like to see these used to develop new ES cell lines...
...you know what? Forget half measures, I'm going to give you a condensed university-level education on what embryonic stem cell research is all about because I think, perhaps, that you and a few others can benefit from it. Long post to follow (Battuta, Herra, etc feel free to chime in if I miss anything or some of this is out of date):
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There are a lot of misconceptions out there about stem cell research. A stem cell is, quite simply, a generic term for any cell capable of differentiating into two or more types of specialized cell. There are two types of stem cells: totipotent, which can divide to produce literally any cell in the body (from a hair cell to a brain cell to an immune cell to bone marrow), and pluripotent, which can produce two or more different cell types but are restricted in that they are unable to produce some other cell types.
Stem cell research is important for more reasons than the frequent media trumpet concerning new organ growth, cancer, blah blah. Stem cell research is about growing functional tissues which can be used to replace or heal existing tissues - the applications are literally endless. This science, combined with modern molecular genetics, literally has the potential to be able to cure every disease known to mankind - by replacing damage tissue, and even by allowing for targeted application of gene therapy. There are even applications in immunology and disease resistance. It's importance cannot be overstated - which is why limiting research based on ideology (as opposed to ethics) is so tragic.
The main problem is that the way this research is carried out is grossly misunderstood.
[Slight simplification follows] When a mammalian egg and sperm fuse, the resulting cell divides roughly every 24 hours. The one, two, four, and 8 cell stages all contain totipotent cells - splitting off any single one of these makes it theoretically possible to grow a
clone (in quotes to indicate this a biological, not sci-fi term) of the original organism. Beyond the 8-cell stage, the process can become dicey based on the organism - all cells may remain totipotent for a few more cell divisions, or they may start differentiating and become pluripotent (limited destiny). By the time an organism is fully grown, very few totipotent cells remain in the body - the only remaining stem cells that are readily identifiable in human adults are pluripotent. As not all cell types have broad pluripotent parents, they are unsuited to stem cell research.
A number of years ago, several researchers created what are known now as iPS cells - induced pluripotent stem cells. Essentially these are stem cells which are made from adult human cells which are treated through molecular manipulation to expand their differentiation potential - essentially, we remove the genetic restrictions on cell differentiation. The problem with this is two-fold: (1) they are not totipotent - several of the genetic changes that totipotent stem cells undergo in their division to produce pluripotent cells are irreversibly coded into DNA (usually through deletion and changes in coding/folding) and (2) the manipulation process may unlock proto-oncogenes and cause the iPS cells to act instead as cancer cells. While iPS cell research has fantastic applications, there are still some severe limitations on it.
This brings us to embyronic stem cells - specifically, the cells contained in the 4-8 cell blastocyst that are completely totipotent. Traditional methods of harvesting these cells disrupted the integrity of the blastocyst to such an extent that is destroyed the embryo - harvesting the stem cells killed the organism. While this is less of a problem for people who don't view human life as beginning at conception (I admittedly fall into this category), it's still not scientifically ideal because it eliminates the possibility of producing an ES cell line tailored to each person. Much in the way we save cord blood now, we may eventually reach a point where everyone can have their very own ES cell line made from the point of birth - thus ensuring a cell line with a guarantee of genetic and immune match for organs and pretty much any other tissue they could be coaxed into producing.
Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis has largely solved this problem. Using PGD techniques (which were pioneered for a totally different reason, I might add), we can separate a sinlge totipotent cell from a 4-cell or 8-cell blastocyst WITHOUT destroying the remaining embryo. Research to date has shown that the embryo develops normally to a pre-set stage (protocols dictate that at present time such research embryos must be destroyed before developing into a fetus, per government regulation), and the removed cell is equally capable of developing into an embryo again or being coaxed to form an ES cell line. The technology now exists to harvest totipotent stem cells without destroying the embryo as a whole - current government regulations prevent those R&D embryos from being allowed to develop to term.
This brings me to cell lines. When we harvest a stem cell, pluripotent or totipotent, they are not permitted to develop into other tissues from the start. That would be extremely wasteful - 1 cell, 1 product is less than ideal when we literally are dealing with truly immortal cells capable of dividing billions of times. Instead, researchers treat these cells (the exact procedure I don't know the details of without looking up) in order to produce ES cell
lines. Think line like lineage - a constantly-replenishing supply of genetically identical cells. These lines are then used to produce stem cells that are used in research while the line itself is maintained. This gives several (or dozens) of labs the ability to work with genetically identical cells. While there are many ES cell lines already being maintained, the creation of new lines is imperative for a genetically diverse baseline. Bush's ban on funding banned public funding of research which created new ES cell lines; existing lines (generated before the ban; those made after the ban were still barred) were authorized for limited use. This judge's ruling actually makes the Bush ban harsher because it forbids public funds from being used in research even on establish ES cell lines. Meanwhile, ES cell lines are still being created in other countries around the world, it's just that no one operating with public funds in the United States is allowed to use them. Brilliant, that conservative ideology founded firmly in ignorance instead of making any attempt to understand the science behind the issue.
IVF clinics, by the nature of the procedure they perform, produce many extra embryos for every woman, and only a few are implanted. The rest are discarded. Thus, it would be better for everyone concerned if these embryos could be used to produce new ES cell lines; the embryos will be destroyed regardless, due to the regulations in place, but at least some use is coming of them. Barring that, it would be nice if publicly-funded research in the US could use new ES cell lines, but Bush and the latest judicial decision have kicked that solidly to the curb for now.
