Harvard stem cell announcement was overdue

Harvard University's announcement this weekend that it will soon launch a center for research on human stem cells is overdue. As one of the leading research institutes in the world, and endowed with an enormous amount of cash to use for research, Harvard has the responsibility to promote research in areas that the federal government does not for various political reasons. Research about stem cells has suffered in the United States since President Bush announced strict restrictions on the use of federal funding for stem cell research in August 2001.

The declaration by Harvard is likely to reignite the debate about the propriety of using embryonic stem cells in scientific research. Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to become any cell in the body, but as the cells in the embryo divide they become more specialized and lose this ability. Scientists and people who support the study of embryonic stem cells point to the overwhelming list of diseases and injuries that the use of stem cells can cure.

The argument against the use of stem cells begins with it the premise that embryonic stem cells are human beings, and that to use them in research is the same as killing a person. The end, no matter how great, does not rationalize the means. A large part of their argument is that to use stem cells is against Christian values. Pope John Paul said that "A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death."

Neither side was happy with President Bush's decision in 2001. Scientists lack the financial support and credibility that the federal government provides. Activists against stem cell research realize that allowing research to continue on the 60 stem cell lines already discovered is a slippery slope towards the abyss of unrestrained research. Other than Christopher Reeves' lawsuit against the government restrictions on funding, little attention has been given to stem cell research since 2001.

Harvard is pushing the issue back into the public eye. It is doing so in an open-minded manner that will invite dissenting opinions. Harvard Provost Steven E. Hyman told The Boston Globe that the stem cell research project will include "the business school, the school of government, the law school, and the divinity school will be invited to participate, as part of an effort to understand the ethical, social, and business dimensions of the new technology." Ideally, the privately funded research conducted at Harvard will find ways to avoid the ethical dilemma, possibly through the discovery of a viable non-embryonic stem cell, and allow President Bush to rescind his ban so that America can continue to be at the forefront of medical research and scientific discovery. Realistically, the involvement of so many diverse disciplines will create the oversight, constraints, and moral accountability that will allow research to continue, while not devaluing human life.