US approves 1st stem cell study for spinal injury
26 January 2009 by jimmerBy MALCOLM RITTER
Thursday, January 22, 2009 6:03 PM CST
NEW YORK (AP) ? A U.S. biotech company says it plans to start this summer the world’s first study of a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells ? a long-awaited project aimed at spinal cord injury.
The company gained federal permission this week to inject eight to 10 patients with cells derived from embryonic cells, said Dr. Thomas Okarma, president and CEO of Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif.
The patients will be paraplegics, who can use their arms but can’t walk. They will receive a single injection within two weeks of their injury.
The study is aimed at testing the safety of the procedure, but doctors will also look for signs of improvement like return of sensation or movement in the legs, Okarma said.
Whatever its outcome, the study will mark a new chapter in the contentious history of embryonic stem cell research in the United States ? a field where debate spilled out of the laboratory long ago and into national politics.
While some overseas doctors claim to use human embryonic stem cells in their clinics, stem cell experts said they knew of no previous human studies that use such cells.
“It’s a milestone and it’s a breakthrough for the field” because Geron passed the safety hurdles for getting federal clearance to launch the study, said Ed Baetge, chief scientific officer of Novocell Inc. His company hopes to begin a similar human study for treating diabetes in a few years.
In addition, said spinal cord injury researcher Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University, “a lot of hope of the spinal cord injury community is riding on this trial.”
The full report can be found HERE
And just what we expect of the fantasy driven and illogical. The Catholic Church regards embryonic stem cells to be human beings and consider it murder to treat them the way that is needed for stem cell research. Although there is going to be a time in the not so distant future where cures are to be had from ESC. I wonder what their position will be when Catholics can be cured. I am hopeful that the church does not bend.Then as we progress through this century the churches all will find themselves becoming extinct. ….It could happen.
What pisses me off most about this is their threat to our lawmakers. Possible excommunication blither blah blither. I wonder if any are afraid of that? When they vote to pass the Freedom Of Choice Act (FOCA) they will be violating core Catholic doctrine. Until then however the little bastards are doing everything they can to unduly influence our lawmakers.
Catholic Bishops Set Pro-Life Duel With Obama
Thursday, January 22, 2009 12:31 PM
By: Mike Tighe
The pro-life duel started quickly, with U.S. Catholic bishops and President Barack Obama crossing swords on abortion and stem-cell research issues.
…..
Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Ore., published on Jan. 19 in this diocesan newspaper an essay discussing Christians’ duties to the unborn and a warning about FOCA.” …I do not see how any Catholic senator or representative could vote for the passage of FOCA without recognizing that such a vote would constitute a direct and intentional declaration of their distain for Catholic teaching,” Bishop Vasa wrote. “Such a vote would be tantamount to a public declaration of their intention to abandon the Catholic faith.”
Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto also has said that he would not rule out excommunication for pro-abortion Catholic politicians.
Father Cronin said the last such campaign that he was involved in took place 14 years ago as partial-birth abortion was being debated.
“The response to that was awesome. It had virtually crippled the Capitol’s post office,” he said.
Information about the “Fight FOCA Postcard Campaign is available online at :http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/FOCA/postcard.shtml.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 January 2009 )
And that article can be found HERE
We have some small hope in all this and that is that President Obama has signalled an end to Bush era policies regarding reproductive rights and stem cell research.
Obama lifts Bush abortion bans
27 January 2009, on 12:46 am
I heard a great question to ask people who don’t support this: There’s a fire in a room, and in one corner is a freezer full of embroys. In the other corner, is a crib holding a six month old baby. Which do you save?
27 January 2009, on 2:15 am
Bishop Vasa wrote. “Such a vote would be tantamount to a public declaration of their intention to abandon the Catholic faith.”
Hmmm…on that note…
[A Fantasy Scene: Aboard the good ship (Italian, of course)..."FOCA YOU!"...
cue boatswain whistle; or just vocally (vaginally?) improvise]:
“ooooWEEoooo”
["Captain Embryo"]:
“Now hear this…now hear this…all you Catholic MotherFOCAs…
Abandon faith!…abandon faith!
Now, watch my atheist belly flop…”
(”Splat!”)
27 January 2009, on 7:15 am
If President Obama sticks to his guns regarding stem cell research, (and I full expect that he will) I am going to allow myself to entertain a bit of hope for this nation’s future.
27 January 2009, on 11:15 am
I imagine the church doing the opposite- They’re going to eventually bend into the notion, just like they did with slavery. Someday stem cells will be common therapy, and all the catholics of that day will deny that their church ever opposed it.
The only difference is that back in their pro-slavery days, there wasn’t an internet for them to fill with their ignorant bullshit. When the time comes that catholics outright embrace stem cell therapy, people will look back on the pages upon pages of die-hard catholics sites/blogs opposing it… And it’ll open their eyes. I mean, no perfect God should ever change- That’s against the nature of perfection. So why would this God change his opinion about stem cell research?
At least, that’s the way I see it. I’m sure there are a good number of atheists/agnostics/simply apostates today that had their eyes first opened upon seeing how the church’s views used to be. I can only imagine such personal revelations occurring more often in the future.
27 January 2009, on 12:12 pm
The crapoliks need a giant communal tail pipe they can all suck on at once. Voila. Rapture achieved.
Ok I’m sorry [NOT] but GEEZ I’m sick of these ooga-booga monster in your closet types trying to shame/guilt/scare people into obeying their ridiculous crap.
Violating ‘core catholik doctrine’ ?? You mean all that made up shit they pull out of their asses over the years? Yeah. WHAT the HELL ever.
27 January 2009, on 7:23 pm
You go, Catholic Church! Because your stances on these issues have made Catholic countries like the Dominican Republic and Haiti such earthly paradises that people from hell-bound US and Europe are flocking in migration to live th– oh, wait…
Because all Catholics believe so sincerely in your strictures against birth control and abortion that even highly-educated, wealthy Catholics bring every pregnancy to term no matter how many children they end up w– oh, wait…
Because even the most severely disabled Catholics with spinal injuries will simply refuse to take stem-cell-derived treatments even if it means the total cure of their entire paral– oh, wait…
Yeah, you’re doomed, you Rotting Carcass Church. The only question is how much suffering your stances will cause before your fangs are finally drawn.
27 January 2009, on 11:33 pm
Well said all.
The good news is that the Obama admin. is proceeding as if the Church didn’t count. Or maybe the Admin. is just claiming its territory.