Brooke Ellison - Author and Motivational Speaker

Press Releases

ANOTHER CHANCE FOR DEMOCRACY TO SAVE LIVES

April 1st, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: 631-240-4412

The 110th Congress has convened in the Capital, and with its commencement, there is a new hope to seize upon previously missed opportunities. One such opportunity was the failure to enact the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which Congress passed in the last legislative session, and just passed the House again on January 11th. This bill, originally introduced in 2005 by Republican Congressman, Michael Castle, was designed to expand the limits of federal funding for stem cell research to include donor-approved excess embryos from in vitro clinics, embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

With the passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, representatives are rectifying limitations placed in 2001 on federal funding for research. However, in July, President Bush vetoed this legislation. The President's veto, his first and only during his time in office, was issued despite the legislation's bipartisan support and passage in both houses of Congress, and despite the fact that both houses of Congress were, at that time, held by the President's own Party.

The President's veto has continued to limit federal funding for stem cell research, and, in so doing, has placed the responsibility and necessity for funding onto the backs of individual states. But stem cell research needs federal attention, given all the lives it stands to save and improve.

Congress has, once again, passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, and has challenged the presidential veto. If ever there were a time and issue requiring legislative action, it would be now on this issue. By passing this legislation again, Congress has sent the message that one individual should not dictate the passage of policy clearly designed for the common good.

President Bush's position on federal funding for stem cell research not only stifles the hopes of millions of Americans, it also places a considerable obstacle to the very scientific and medical progress that the United States should promote, if we plan to remain a leading voice in the global research community.

We live in a deliberative democracy, by its very nature characterized by a diversity of opinions. However, we must act with the broad public good in mind. Through their congressional representatives, the American people have spoken on this issue. The perspective of an isolated few should not ignore the voices of a beholden many-those that are most in need of our concern.

The research protected under the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act represents the progressive-thinking, economically-beneficial, and life-embracing advances that will drive medicine for decades to come-advances that will positively affect all of our lives.

That says nothing of the more important issue at hand: the hope that this research creates for hundreds of millions of Americans right now, and every one at some point. Whether it is Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury, diabetes, all of these are conditions from which no one is immune yet potentially can be treated with the advances of stem cell research. Not investing in this research is shortsighted. Not investing in this research is tantamount to turning our backs on the lives of those who ought to be most in our care.

Last week, researchers at Wake Forest University announced their discovery of stem cells derived from amniotic fluid, a process they claim avoids the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cell research. This announcement interestingly coincides with Congress's movement on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. While we need to explore all avenues of research, we should not and cannot let this development detract from pursuing the known promise of embryonic stem cell research. As is the case with all scientific inquiry, we do not know its full potential until it has been realized. Currently, embryonic stem cell research provides us with the clearest path to reaching that potential.

As Congress convened, President Bush called for cooperation. However, cooperation by its very nature is not a one-sided deal, and the president must give if he plans to take. Once legislation reaches his desk, it is time for the president to join in support of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The need is too great and the promise is too strong. President Bush can now grasp the opportunity to help save and improve millions of American lives-a step that would surely enhance his legacy. Congress has heeded the position of the people in passing the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. We hope that our president will honor the wishes, and the lives, of the Americans who elected him.

For more information about Brooke Ellison, please visit www.brookeellison.com.