A letter to the editor in the Jackson Sun (part of the Tennessee Gannett News-Bot 5000) quotes a Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctor on why embryonic stem cell research is a medical dead end:

In addition, Tommy Mitchell, M.D., of Vanderbilt University Hospital writes: “In the last few years, researchers have succeeded in producing virtually every tissue type from adult stem cells. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, A number of experiments have suggested that certain adult stem cell types are pluripotent. So, it is apparent that the claim that embryonic stem cells can produce more tissue types (than adult stem cells) is not true.” He goes on to say “At present over 70 diseases have been treated with adult stem cell therapy. In contrast, the track record for the use of embryonic stem cells in clinical applications demonstrates no successes:”

I know the case against hESC research has been made pretty well by our side, including the definitive moral case against federal funding. Still, it’s always nice to see support from experts like Dr. Mitchell rather than from the well-meaning but not necessarily reliable voices of folks like Michael J. Fox or Nancy Reagan, in whom Democrats have invested the ultimate moral authority.

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embryonic stem cell, george w. bush, pro-life, science, vanderbilt university