Thursday, April 18, 2013

Right to Life of Michigan Denounces Use of Human Beings as Research Material

Michigan is in the national news because of a disturbing development in human fetal stem cell experimentation.

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to expand an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) Phase II study to the University of Michigan.

The stem cells used in the study come from spinal cord tissue taken from a healthy, 8-week-old aborted baby. Phase I of the trial tested whether human fetal stem cells can safely be injected into the spinal cord. According to Neuralstem, the aim of Phase II is to obtain the maximum tolerated dose.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "Experimentation which relies on the stem cells from a healthy, voluntarily aborted child is unethical. Using the remains of aborted babies in the hopes of helping others lacks an acceptance of human dignity -- for all members of the human family."

Right to Life of Michigan Legislative Director Ed Rivet questioned a "bait and switch" reality regarding stem cell research.

Rivet said, "In 2008, Michigan faced a ballot proposal where so-called 'left over embryos' would be eligible for destructive stem cell research. But the first human trial to come to Michigan after five years uses spinal cord cells from an aborted baby. How did we cross all these ethical lines? How has the 'right to abortion' evolved into using healthy developing babies as fodder for scientific research?"