LifeBeat for October 27, 2007

Dr. Rich Poupard from Life Training Institute discusses human cloning and talks about how to respond to the claims of those who are in favor of human cloning for research. To listen, click here.

Abortion Death in Massachusetts

On September 13, 2007, a young woman from Massachusetts named Laura Smith died after undergoing an abortion at Cape & Island Center for Women's Health. Recently, the Cape Cod Times has printed one article about Laura's death and another article about how the abortionist was forced to hand over Smith's medical records. The death of Laura Smith along with the deaths of countless other women who have died from legal abortion shows that making abortion legal doesn't make it safe.

Life Facts - Kids with sickle-cell disease cured with stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Children struck with the genetic disease of sickle-cell or thalassemia (a hemoglobin abnormality), were cured after receiving an umbilical cord blood transplant from their siblings. Ninety percent of the 43 children in the study were cured. The results were reported at the 35th annual convention held by the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and the National Institutes of Health in Washington, on September 20, 2007.

One of the patients, Matthew Damm, was born with thalassemia requiring a transfusion every few weeks starting when he was 6 weeks old. He also had a needle inserted in his stomach to extract excess iron from his body, almost every night. Matthew underwent a transplant of stem cells from his baby sister's umbilical cord two years ago. Today Matt is an energetic 7 year old who knows that his little sister Hannah saved his life.

The biggest drawback to eliminating this difficult disease is finding enough cord blood donors to provide the wide range of tissue matches necessary. Michigan passed a law last year that would establish a network of cord blood stem cell banks as well as increase public awareness as to the benefits of donating cord blood at birth, however due to our fiscal crisis it is not funded.

For more information, click here.

LifeBeat for October 20, 2007

Mary Verwys, a sidewalk counselor from Grand Rapids, talks about the dangers to women who have abortions and how sidewalk counselors love both the woman and her child. To listen, click here.

Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research and Cures gets big donation from Taubman

On October 16, the Detroit News published an article noting that A. Alfred Taubman (a very wealthy real estate developer) has donated $1.4 million dollars to the Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research and Cures. The article also notes that Taubman has pledged to financially support a possible ballot initiative to repeal Michigan's prolife laws.

The Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research and Cures is a pro-embryonic stem cell research organization which is working to overturn Michigan's prolife laws which prohibit human cloning and killing human embryos for research by promoting embryonic stem cell research. Their web site was taken down for weeks in the fall of 2006 after Right to Life of Michigan issued a press release noting false and plagiarized information on their web site.

For more information on stem cell research, please visit www.stemcellresearchcures.com.

LifeBeat for October 13, 2007

Mary Verwys, a sidewalk counselor from Grand Rapids, discusses what sidewalk counselors do and what is the most difficult thing for sidewalk counselors. To listen, click here.

LifeFacts - Adult stem cells restore function to paralyzed patients while media blackout of success continues

Patients who have been paralyzed from 4 years to 22 years, had their own bone marrow stem cells extracted from their hip bone and transplanted into their spinal cord, resulting in restored bodily functions at Luis Vernaza Hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Dr. Louis Geffner presented the report on September 17 at the 2007 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego. Of the 25 patients who underwent the procedure and provided follow up, 15 gained the ability to stand up, 10 could walk on parallel bars with braces, 7 could walk without braces and 5 could walk with crutches. Three recovered full bladder control and 10 regained some sexual function. There were no side effects or adverse reactions at all, because the patients' own stem cells were used, nullifying the tissue rejection issue. This study proves that bone marrow stem cells are safe and effective for spinal cord injury patients while increasing their quality of life. Despite this ground breaking progress which actor Christopher Reeve foretold would come, the media is reporting none of it because it involves adult stem cells.

For more information, click here.

Stem cell resources

The Right to Life of Michigan web site has some new fliers on stem cell research in PDF format which can be downloaded, printed, and distributed to friends and family.

The Embryonic Stem Cell Research Money Trail discusses how some embryonic stem cell researchers are currently fighting over patent rights and how some embryonic stem cell researchers are focused on more than just treating patients.

Facts on Stem Cell Research shares some breakthroughs in life-affirming adult stem cell research and some other stem cell research facts.

Denominational Statements Regarding Stem Cell Research provides the positions of various religious denominations on embryonic stem cell research.

The Great Stem Cell Debate: Understanding the Options compares and contrasts adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research.

Tags: stem cell research, michigan

LifeBeat for October 6, 2007

Denise Burke, Vice-President of American United for Life, discusses prolife legislation and explains why her organization ranked Michigan as the #1 state for defending life.

Life Facts - Long term cure for incontinence using patients own stem cells

Researchers from the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria are calling the treatment using the patient's own stem cells a cure for incontinence. Researchers extracted muscle stem cells from the patient's upper arm. The adult stem cells were cultured with collagen and grown in the lab for seven weeks where they differentiated into pre-muscle cells and connective tissue. The cells were then injected into the patient's urethra and rhabdosphincter muscle. By using the patient's own stem cells there is no tissue rejection issues, because the cells are biocompatible. Out of 186 men and women in the study, 153 did not need pads after one year following the treatment.

Incontinence affects more than 15 million Americans. In the near future this stem cell treatment could not only improve the quality of life for those affected, but lessen hospital and nursing home stays. The savings of health care dollars could be substantial.

For more information, click here.

One less abortionist in Michigan

In July, I blogged about a Detroit television station's three-part story about an abortionist in Detroit. The story exposed the abortionist as being willing to violate some of Michigan's prolife laws. He was also working in unsanitary conditions and offering abortions for a low price.

On September 27, WDIV (the same station which ran the original story on the abortionist) revealed the Michigan Department of Community Health suspended the abortionist's license as a result of WDIV's investigation and story. The license suspension order cited 13 counts which led to the suspension of his medical license including negligence, incompetence and "a lack of moral character."