McLellan praises guidelines to allow stem cell research using human embryos
By Dennis Bueckert

OTTAWA - Health Minister Anne McLellan praised Monday guidelines drafted by a federal research agency that would allow stem cell research using human embryos, and said the guidelines will likely be reflected in federal legislation.

Scientists and health charities say the guidelines, which now apply only to government- funded research, open the door to vital work that could bring new treatments for serious diseases. "I think it would be fair to say that at least much of that which you find in the guidelines will in some fashion be reflected in legislation ultimately passed by this government," McLellan said.

But critics say it is immoral to obtain cells from a human fetus which must be destroyed in the process, and prominent lawyer Maureen McTeer compared stem cell work with research on humans in Nazi Germany. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into almost every type of tissue in the human body. They are believed to hold great potential for treating many diseases, and even for generating replacement organs. But they can be obtained only from embryos which cannot survive the procedure.

Experts say there are hundreds of frozen embryos stored at fertility clinics across the country, many of which are no longer needed by the couples for whom they were created. Because the embryo implantation procedure doesn't always work, it's common for couples to produce extra embryos which are kept in frozen storage if needed for a second or third attempt.

Under guidelines announced by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a federal agency, researchers could use embryos donated by couples who no longer need these extras. McTeer, who is the wife of Tory Leader Joe Clark, and who served on the 1993 Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies, infuriated researchers by comparing stem cell research to Nazi experiments. "Most of the laws that we have now, and the rules that we have now, flow from our attempt to ensure that these atrocities, these abuses, don't happen again as they relate to research," she said.

Michael Rudnicki, a molecular geneticist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, called McTeer's remarks offensive. "I'm very surprised that she would say that," Rudnicki said. "It's extremely offensive to euate stem cell research to the Holocaust. "That almost suggests that researchers are Nazis, that we're a bunch of Dr. Mengeles. Give me a break."

The guidelines ban cloning and the creation of embryos strictly for research purposes but permit research on embryos no longer needed for reproductive purposes with the informed consent of couples to whom they belong. No payment will be allowed, so as to prevent commodification of human life. Researchers won't be allowed to trade in services such as in-vitro fertilization for embryos, something that is said to happen now.

Although embryonic stem cells can be obtained from aborted fetuses, researchers say that in practice it is difficult, and embryos from fertility clinics are by far the preferred choice.

Health groups are strongly supporting the guidelines. "Embryonic stem cell research offers great promise in advancing our knowledge of cancer," said Julie White of the Canadian Cancer Society.

People with progressive disabilities want the research to proceed, said Clairedon Robicheau of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. "As one with a neuromuscular disorder who can directly benefit from such research I applaud the initiative taken by the CIHR."

Canadian Alliance leadership candidate Stockwell Day called for a moratorium on stem cell research and accused the research institute of doing an end-run around Parliament. "Embryonic stem cell research requires human life to be sacrificed in the name of science, and opens the door to cloning and other possible abuses," he said.

Peter Ryan, president of LifeCanada, a pro-life group, said the CIHR should find adult sources of stem cells. But researchers say that adult stem cells don't have the same capabilities as embryonic ones.

The issue will be addressed in long-awaited legislation on new reproductive and genetic technologies. McLellan said she hopes it will be passed before summer. McTeer has taken a strong pro-choice position in the abortion debate which involves the same basic issue: the rights and status of the unborn child. But she denied that the two debates are related.

It was announced Monday that researchers who wish to work with human stem cells are eligible for funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a federal agency, under the following conditions:

• When existing human embryonic stem cell lines are used.
• When embryos created for reproductive purposes are used because they are no longer required.
• Where the persons for whom the embryos were created have given free and informed consent for their use in research.
• When there were no commercial transactions involved in the creation and use of the embryos.