FALL MEETING IN NEW YORK CITY AND BIOETHICS FORUM Panel Discussion on Stem Cell Research Dr. Harold Varmus Click here for Dr. Varmus' bio Thank you. I appreciate the chance to come up and talk to you about what’s going on in the world of stem cell research. I’m going to serve as the moderator and I thought it might be useful to make just a couple of remarks at the beginning. The way I like to run this is basically to look and not disregard the schedule that’s been given. We have an hour-and-a-half. I think what we’ll do is hear something about the science from Rudy Jaenisch and then some of the discussion of the complicated ethical issues from Josephine Johnston. Their particulars are in your handout and we’ll allow each of them 20 minutes or so to discourse on their topics and then we’ll open this up for questions. I want to emphasize a couple of things in the outset that you need to pay attention to. One is terminology. Stem cell, which I’m sure Rudy will define the very broad topic that refers to cells that have the power, the capacity to divide, make new copies of the cells, and also generate cells that can be differentiated to perform any of a variety of functions that are seen in the various organs in our bodies. Stem cells may be found in adults, can be found in various times during embryo development and the most contentious point is the discussion about stem cells that comes in the very early embryo. Especially the fact from an ethical point of view, the conversation is joined entirely about human embryonic stem cells. So stem cells, for most of our discussion today will probably be shorthand for human embryonic stem cells. Second point is that stem cell discussions are inevitably, closely linked to the discussions of embryo research and cloning. And I’m sure that Rudy will introduce these notions because it’s very difficult to understand or to have a full conversation about stem cells unless we think about it in relation to the fundamental issue whether one should be permitted to do research on human embryos and we need to deal with that in the context of a consideration of methodologies that have been used in the cloning of animals. The discussions that we’ll have after we learn something about the science have to deal with not only the ethics but also the politics of stem cells. All of you who saw the Democratic convention or are listening to the presidential debates are aware that stem cell research is playing an unexpectedly large role in the debates about this year’s elections. These stem cells constitute some wedge issues that draw people from one party into another party and are at least to the point of voting for somebody nominated by another party. And we will want to talk a little bit about some of the political issues and if there’s any place where I’m liable to intrude my own presence here besides this opening comment, it will be, with the respect to the legislation, the proposed legislation, that underlies this. I don’t do stem cell research myself, but as Director of NIH and now as a political activist, I’m very involved in a number of efforts to regulate stem cells by federal legislation, by executive orders, by state bills, including Proposition 71 that the citizens of California will vote on very soon that was described in enormous detail in a very flamboyant, interesting story that appeared in New York Magazine this week. And even the UN is involved. So the conflicts between the Feds and the states, the US and other countries, the US and the UN, and issues that have to differentiate carefully between regulations or laws that affect federal funding of research for regulations, executive orders, and laws that dictate whether or not certain kinds of research can be done and whether or not there are criminal penalties associated with it, will be a major source of discussion once we get to the point of discussing what our speakers have to say. So, without further adieu, I’ll turn it over to Rudy. Feel free to raise your hand and interrupt. I think this is a free-wheeling exercise. I gather that is the sense of this meeting anyway, but if Rudy is not making concepts clear as to define them carefully for you, raise your hand.