Pro-Life Groups Applaud 
Bush Decision on Human Embryos

November 5, 2002—Washington, DC: Family and pro-life groups came out last week in strong support of the Bush administration's decision to add human embryos to the list of "human subjects" whose welfare should be considered by the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee.

The decision is a powerful statement that the administration considers the rights of unborn children on par with those of children and adults, the pro-life groups said.

"We applaud the Bush administration in this decision for recognizing the humanity of the embryo," said Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council.

"It's a simple fact of science, not a question of political or moral ideology. The consideration of political and moral ideology should not be used to rob the embryo of the protection to which it is due as a human being," Connor stated.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, said he welcomed the administration explicitly "recognizing that all members of the human family are human subjects at every stage of development and should be protected from unethical and harmful forms of research."

There have not been any appointments to the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee yet. When the panel is formed and begins functioning, it will make recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The committee will not have regulatory authority.

The administration's decision also reflects congressional thinking on embryo research, Johnson said. Every year since 1995, Congress has prohibited federal funding for research in which human embryos are harmed, clearly indicating it intends for embryos to be regarded as human subjects, he said.

"Already we have federal policy with respect to federally-funded research on that and here we have a panel to deal with issues relating to human experimentation. It would be odd if the charter had not reflected the clear intent of Congress," Johnson said.

Embryos are particularly vulnerable in today's research, analysts said. In the quest to find cells to repair damaged tissue, such as tissue in the brain afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, medical researchers have been investigating the possibility of embryonic cells to produce these needed reparative cells, known as "stem" cells.

At least one expert on embryo research is criticizing the Bush administration's change.

"This could be the next step in according embryos new legal rights and the status of the person under the law," Marcy Wilder, a former deputy general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services, told The Washington Post this week.

"We're seeing the politicization of what should be a scientific advisory committee," Wilder said.

The National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee was created during the Clinton administration but was allowed to expire after HHS officials said they wanted to broaden the committee's charter. The Bush administration reactivated the committee in October as the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections.