Profs work to overcome legal restrictions

Patricia Labosky spends most of her time dissecting mouse embryos. But if she had the choice, she would be dissecting human embryos instead.

Labosky, an assistant professor in the School of Medicine, studies the genes that control embryonic development. But her laboratory -- like hundreds across the country -- is the subject of political battles from Harrisburg to Washington.

"If I could do the research in an unfettered way, I would," Labosky said. "I'm going to do the best I can with the mouse embryonic stem cells."

Labosky is one of a handful of Penn researchers studying stem cells, which have the potential to develop into a number of specialized cell types in the body.

Many scientists are eager to study human embryonic stem cells because of their promise in fighting a number of human diseases, from Parkinson's disease to diabetes.

"The stem cells that have the most potential are the ones in the embryo," Labosky said.

But Penn scientists face several barriers preventing them from doing more experimentation. President George W. Bush announced in 2001 that federal funding would be limited to research on the 60 existing lines of human stem cells but that no money could go toward research on new human embryos, citing moral reservations.

Pennsylvania law also prohibits any state funding for human embryonic stem-cell research.

Cures "would come faster if American scientists were allowed to work on stem-cell research," Labosky said.

Other states, however, are more liberal in their stance on the research. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, supported a $3 billion grant to stem-cell research. Lawmakers in Connecticut and New Jersey have recently supported similar proposals.

"That's going to hurt places like Penn," Labosky said. "Some people might consider moving ... for just this reason. We've lost some really good scientists because of that."

Arthur Caplan, the director of the Penn Center for Bioethics, said that much of the controversy originates from the debate over the point at which life begins.

"People argue that you can't destroy embryos to save lives," said Caplan. "Are embryos equivalent to human beings? I think that's just flawed reasoning."

Frank Paul Sampino, the vice president of Penn for Life, said many people in the pro-life community are opposed to human embryonic stem-cell research because they consider embryos to be human beings.

"Embryonic stem-cell research involves the destruction of a ... human embryo," the College sophomore said. "That's the kind of thing that our group is organized to oppose. We have grave ethical concerns with that kind of research."

Caplan added that while the Center for Bioethics has addressed the topic extensively, most Penn researchers support stem-cell research because of its medical potential.

"There isn't any day-to-day [ethical] anguish ... I think they look with envy at California," Caplan said. "I think they wonder if it's ever going to be possible to launch some of that work in Philadelphia."

Caplan said that the pharmaceutical industry is reluctant to provide funding because the research may not be lucrative in the short term. Labosky said that she thought researchers were at least five years from finding any actual remedies.

"There isn't any investment" yet, Caplan said. "The research is too far away from producing cures."

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