On October 28 Bill C-13 passed through the House of Commons, effectively prohibiting human cloning in this country but allowing for stem cell research. The bill still has to pass through the Senate, but its implementation will cut through the “legislative limbo” scientists wishing to conduct stem cell research have found themselves in for the past several years.
If passed, Bill C-13 would prohibit human therapeutic cloning, but allow research on stem cells from embryos “left over” from infertility treatments, where several embryos are created for couples having trouble conceiving in the hopes that one might successfully be implanted in a mother. The bill stipulates that such embryos are not to be kept alive past 14 days. It also bans the creation of human-animal hybrids, the sale of sperm and ova, and commercial surrogacy.
Bill C-13 would also allow the creation of a government-appointed body, called the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada, to regulate and monitor activities at fertility clinics. The Agency would also license clinics and collect data.
Since their discovery in humans five years ago, stem cells have spawned excitement, fear, and controversy worldwide. Stem cells are “pluripotent”, meaning they can develop into almost any type of body cell. Labs then culture these undifferentiated embryonic cells, in essence “blank cells,” into specialized blood, nerve, or muscle cells. For many, stem cells provide the greatest hope to recover lost or damaged tissue.
Scientists have been conducting research on stem cells in laboratories and fertility clinics all over this country for the past several years, but without any clear guidelines. Labs were allowed to experiment on extra human embryos left over from infertility treatments provided only that they were not kept alive past 14 days, according to guidelines set by the federal Medical Research Council in 1987.
Professor Jocelyn Downie, research chair in Health and Law Policy at Dalhousie University, commented, “… apart from this stipulation, most research activities at fertility clinics across Canada [were] unregulated.”
There are two main ways that fertility labs have been able to extract stem cells. The first method involves harvesting stem cells directly from six-day-old fertilized embryos, called blastocysts.
The second method uses human therapeutic cloning. It involves replacing the DNA of a fertilized egg with a patient’s DNA, and allowing the resultant embryo to divide into the blastocyst. Stem cells are harvested and cultured to form organ tissue. Healthy heart tissue, for example, can then be transplanted into the recipient without fear of tissue rejection because the cells contain the patient’s own DNA. Human therapeutic cloning provides the greatest hope for thousands of people suffering from spinal cord injuries or who are afflicted with degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s Disease.
Many politicians and ethicists applaud Bill C-13 because it would finally provide clear guidelines for controversial practices. Yet some politicians and experts in the field of human reproduction claim that Bill C-13 does not go far enough in preventing abuses such as the creation of embryos solely for stem cell production. They insist that the Agency must ensure that only existing surplus embryos from infertility treatments be used. Professor Abdalla Daar of U of T’s Joint Centre for Bioethics generally supports the bill but worries that, “…the Agency may not be powerful enough to enforce its regulations.”
Bill C-13 must still gain Senate approval before Prime Minister Chretien’s imminent handing over of power. If the bill does not pass the Senate, the resulting vacuum in human tissue regulation may soon be filled by unfettered experimentation in fertility labs across Canada.
It should be noted that embryos are not the only source for stem cells. Dr. Chris Glover of the Ottawa Heart Institute explains that adult stem cells, gleaned from bone marrow, may also be used in research. Although he states that embryonic stem cells have been shown most likely to develop into differentiated tissues, he concedes that not much research has been done to date in this other area. If encouraged by legislators and pursued by labs, this avenue of research could provide the solution that would satisfy all concerns of stem cell research.
