NeuroTalk Support Groups - Stem Cell Research in Rhode Island

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

CRANSTON -- Since President Bush has stifled federal progress, it's time for states such as Rhode Island to do what they can to promote embryonic stem-cell research, U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin said yesterday.

Langevin joined two state representatives at the Hope Alzheimer's Center yesterday to announce plans for a task force to study what other states -- most notably California -- have done to finance and promote stem-cell research. The task force will make recommendations to the state House of Representatives.

"As the federal government sits on the sideline, states like Rhode Island must step up to the plate and become involved in promoting and encouraging all types of stem-cell research within their own states," Langevin said.

The announcement came one week before Langevin faces Jennifer Lawless in a Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District race. Lawless issued a news release, saying, "In Congress, I'll be every bit the fighter on stem-cell research that Representative Langevin has been, and work much harder on behalf of Rhode Island families."

Lawless said she would be an "unwavering" supporter of stem-cell research, referring to Langevin's votes in 2001 and 2003 to ban reproductive and therapeutic cloning of embryonic stem cells. Langevin has said that in 2001 he didn't fully understand therapeutic cloning and in 2003 he voted for an amendment that would have allowed it. When the amendment failed, he voted for a bill banning both reproductive and therapeutic cloning.

At the outset of yesterday's news conference, Langevin said, "I have devoted a great deal of time and energy to studying this issue, and my excitement and passion for stem-cell research has become a driving force in my work in the U.S. House of Representatives."

Langevin said one of the highlights of his career came this year when Congress passed a bill, which he cosponsored, that would have lifted financing restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research.

"I was devastated, along with millions of Americans who share my hopes and dreams, when President Bush vetoed this bill," he said.

Langevin, who was paralyzed during a shooting accident at age 16, said, "I know in my heart that stem-cell research is going to change the face of medicine as we know it."

He said a researcher in California, Dr. Hans Kierstead, has used stem cells to get paralyzed rats to walk. And, he said, "the potential goes beyond curing paralysis and spinal cord injuries. Stem-cell research will help us to understand and treat Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, even cancer."

Langevin said states can't afford to provide the kind of money that the federal government could devote to stem-cell research. He said it would be far better for the National Institutes of Health to oversee a national policy and to ensure that the research is done ethically

But, Langevin said, "In the meantime, people are suffering." He said seven states have taken steps to fund stem-cell research: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin.

State Representatives Eileen S. Naughton, D-Warwick, and Raymond J. Sullivan Jr., D-Coventry, said they will propose a House commission that would look at what's being done in those seven states and at other public and private research practices

Langevin said Rhode Island could follow California's lead and have a ballot initiative to pay for stem-cell research -- though at a lesser amount than the $3 billion that Californians approved over 10 years. Also, he called for encouraging coordination between colleges, researchers and biotechnology companies in Rhode Island and encouraging "the brightest minds in Rhode Island to go into this field."