Cord-Blood Bill Passes Congress
By Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family Action
SUMMARY: Federal funding will expand life-saving research
by creating a national stem-cell bank.
Once a democratic senator removed his hold from a bill
that would provide federal funding for the collection and
storage of umbilical-cord blood, it sailed through the
U.S. Senate with changes that were immediately and
unanimously approved by the House of Representatives over
the weekend. President Bush is expected to sign the
legislation.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, blocked the vote last week,
hoping it would provide political cover next year when a
vote is taken on controversial embryonic stem-cell
research. After his office was flooded with phone calls
Friday, Harkin backed down.
The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act, authored by
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., will increase the number of
cord-blood storage units and create a database of
information, allowing for better treatment for disease and
expanded research options.
Umbilical-cord blood is a non-controversial source of stem
cells -- unlike embryonic stem-cell research, which always
requires the destruction of human life to extract the
cells.
Thousands of patients have already been successfully
treated with stem cells from umbilical-cord blood,
including people with leukemia and sickle-cell anemia. And
there's promise for more cures.
Getting federal legislation passed that recognizes the
value of life-affirming stem-cell research moves the
national discussion in the right direction -- and saves
lives in the process.
"We will now be able to turn medical waste -- umbilical
cords and placentas -- into medical miracles for huge
numbers of very sick and terminally ill patients," Smith
said. "My bill also reauthorizes the national bone-marrow
transplant system and combines both systems under a new
program to provide an easy, single-access point for
information for doctors and patients."
Smith said it can't be emphasized enough that
non-controversial adult stem cells are the ones already
producing cures.
"Not only has God in His infinite wisdom and goodness
created the placenta and umbilical cord to nurture and
protect the precious life of an unborn child," he said,
"but now we know that another gift awaits us immediately
after birth, something very special is left behind -- cord
blood that is rich with stem cells."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus
on the Family Action, said the legislation will open new
doors for the collection, storage and use of cord blood in
stem-cell research.
"Thanks to this legislation, more cord blood will be
inventoried and available for treatment, making more
matched stem cells available to patients in need," she
said. "Best of all, no life is lost in the collection of
these stem cells and many patients will benefit from this
effort."
Lanier Swann, director of government relations for
Concerned Women for America (CWA), said passing the
legislation is a victory.
"Congressman Chris Smith has championed this issue, and
today he has the gratitude of thousands of patients who
will benefit from its passage," she said. "Despite the
liberal left's attempts to play politics with patients'
lives by holding this bill hostage, the grassroots rallied
together and exposed the liberals' playbook for what it
is. Final passage of the cord-blood bill should serve as a
reminder to all Americans that their voices do indeed make
a difference on Capitol Hill."