Christopher Reeve condemns Catholic hierarchy's stance on stem cell research. (The Church and Cloning).ACTOR CHRISTOPHER Reeve, who was paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. from the neck down in a fall from his horse in 1995, has condemned the stance of the Catholic hierarchy and President George W. Bush for obstructing medical research that might help find a cure for paralysis and other disorders of the nervous system. Reeve, who gained fame for playing Superman in the 1978 movie, supports work to promote embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. ES cells are pluripotent. research. In 1999, he became the chairman of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. supporting research to develop effective treatments and a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury Spinal Cord Injury Definition Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes loss of sensation and motor control. Description Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. and other central nervous system disorders Nervous system disorders A satisfactory classification of diseases of the nervous system should include not only the type of reaction (congenital malformation, infection, trauma, neoplasm, vascular diseases, and degenerative, metabolic, toxic, or deficiency . In an interview with the Guardian, a UK-based newspaper, he argued that, under pressure from the Catholic hierarchy, the Bush administration had stymied research using stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young . He said, "If we'd had full government support, full government funding for aggressive research using embryonic stem cells from the moment they were first isolated, at the University of Wisconsin in the winter of 1998--I don't think it unreasonable to speculate that we might be in human trials by now." However, he said that the Catholic hierarchy had the ear of the president "in making his decisions about embryonic stem cell research" and influenced the Bush administration's thinking on the research. In a subsequent statement, he said, "Our government should not be influenced by any religion when matters of public policy are being debated." |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion