Stem Cells to Be Used in Brazil

As Brazilians in wheelchairs cheered, legislators voted to legalize stem cell research using human embryos ? offering hope of one day finding treatments for illnesses such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries, according to a news report from The Associated Press.

The Brazilian government decided to permit research with embryos from in-vitro fertilization that have been frozen for at least three years. The bill now goes to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to sign it into law.

Brazilians in wheelchairs wore T-shirts that said, in Portuguese: "Stem cells ? Hope" outside of the legislature.

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However, not everyone was applauding. Brazil's Roman Catholic Church lamented the decision as a violation of the sanctity of human life. About 70% of Brazil's 183 million people are Catholic.

"It's a day for us to weep, because it opens the gates to offend human dignity," said Cardinal Geraldo Majella, president of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference. "It's a sad day, not only for the church, but for mankind. Today we open the door to kill embryos ? what will pass tomorrow?"

Government figures show that some 10 million Brazilians have diabetes and 14.5 million have serious disabilities that may benefit from stem cell research. Which path to take is certainly polarized. The pro-stem cell group doesn?t see it quite the same way. They also feel, as the Church does, that saving lives is indeed the bottom line.

Stem cells are found in bone marrow, the umbilical cord and in embryos. The embryonic cells are more flexible and can reproduce any tissue with little risk of rejection, said Mayana Zatz, coordinator of the Center of Human Genome Studies at the University of São Paulo.

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