Bahamas News
05-02-05, - 09:54 PM
Health Officials Considering Application For Stem Cell Research
Candia Dames
The Bahama Journal
Nearly one year after Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel ordered the IAT Immunology Research Centre in Freeport to suspend all stem cell research, he has confirmed that the Ministry’s Ethics Committee is considering another application for a team wishing to pursue work in the emerging science.
But Dr. Bethel, in a recent interview with The Bahama Journal, said he did not have the application before him and was not familiar with the specifics of the proposal.
He did confirm, however, that the applicant is based in Freeport.
Dr. Bethel said that the applicant would have to meet certain international guidelines the Ministry of Health is following.
"We will assess each proposal that comes before us in the context of the existing accepted global guidelines," he told The Bahama Journal. "In time, I am sure that all nations will evolve their own individual legislation depending on what they consider the ethics, the morality and the scientific benefits to be derived from stem cell research."
Dr. Bethel ordered the Freeport clinic to suspend stem cell research in 2004 after an exclusive Bahama Journal investigative series revealed that the work was taking place and that some Americans and even a citizen of the United Kingdom had traveled to Grand Bahama for stem cell procedures.
Prior to the reports, the Health Minister had said that he was not aware that such work was taking place in The Bahamas.
After issuing the suspension order, he told reporters that the government was seeking to develop legislation that would govern stem cell research in the country.
"The Bahamas is not a playground for research that is not approved and we continue to develop very stringent guidelines and will continue to do so because it is the Ministry of Health’s responsibility to protect and preserve the public’s safety," Dr. Bethel said at the time of the Journal investigation.
Asked recently for a progress report on the formulation of stem cell legislation, he said, "The Ethics Committee that exists in the Ministry of Health is mandated to review existing policies and or help in the formulation of policies with respect to the emerging field of stem cell research. That’s an ongoing exercise. We have no timelines because we will deal with international guidelines to guide us until such time as we complete a formulation of our own policy.
"Keep in mind that the whole question of stem cell research is an emerging area globally and there are few if any countries that have any firm guidelines."
Dr. Bethel pointed out that just over the last week, the American Academy of Sciences issued for the first time recommendations to the Government of The United States regarding stem cell research.
"The Bahamas is not going to be a nation that will rush to formulate any firm guidelines, but obviously we will monitor international guidelines and make recommendations based on those to the government," Dr. Bethel said.
"As it stands now, the guidelines that we are using are the ones that have been promulgated by the World Health Organization."
The Minister of Health said authorities here continue to pay attention to developments on the global scene as it relates to stem cell research.
"I think that the whole question of stem cell research boils down to balancing its benefits [against] the downside or the negative side of stem cell research," he said.
"The benefits include positive medical impact on health with respect to some disease…and the downside might be the potential abuse of research in respect of impacting on humans and human health. So it has an upside and a downside. That is why it is important that we not ignore it, but that we deal with it proactively."
The government also plans to approach the issue of cloning in the same manner, Dr. Bethel indicated.
Earlier this year, The Bahamas chose to abstain from voting on a human cloning resolution that was put to the United Nations General Assembly.
Officials here explained that it was the best option under the circumstances given that the resolution did not reflect the necessary nuances.
At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the resolution did not recognize the difference between cloning for reproductive purposes and cloning for research purposes only.
"The Bahamas wished neither to preclude all positive possibilities in the emerging field of cloning nor to support the other extreme of the possibility of a disturbing free-for-all in the private and commercial pursuit of human cloning," the Ministry’s statement said.
In his recent interview with The Bahama Journal, Dr. Bethel said that the cloning issue raises similar ethical concerns as the stem cell debate.
"I think over time and with continued debate…there may be a degree of consensus building, but at this very moment in the early stages of this emerging area there remains deep divisions with respect to cloning," Dr. Bethel said.
Candia Dames
The Bahama Journal
Nearly one year after Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel ordered the IAT Immunology Research Centre in Freeport to suspend all stem cell research, he has confirmed that the Ministry’s Ethics Committee is considering another application for a team wishing to pursue work in the emerging science.
But Dr. Bethel, in a recent interview with The Bahama Journal, said he did not have the application before him and was not familiar with the specifics of the proposal.
He did confirm, however, that the applicant is based in Freeport.
Dr. Bethel said that the applicant would have to meet certain international guidelines the Ministry of Health is following.
"We will assess each proposal that comes before us in the context of the existing accepted global guidelines," he told The Bahama Journal. "In time, I am sure that all nations will evolve their own individual legislation depending on what they consider the ethics, the morality and the scientific benefits to be derived from stem cell research."
Dr. Bethel ordered the Freeport clinic to suspend stem cell research in 2004 after an exclusive Bahama Journal investigative series revealed that the work was taking place and that some Americans and even a citizen of the United Kingdom had traveled to Grand Bahama for stem cell procedures.
Prior to the reports, the Health Minister had said that he was not aware that such work was taking place in The Bahamas.
After issuing the suspension order, he told reporters that the government was seeking to develop legislation that would govern stem cell research in the country.
"The Bahamas is not a playground for research that is not approved and we continue to develop very stringent guidelines and will continue to do so because it is the Ministry of Health’s responsibility to protect and preserve the public’s safety," Dr. Bethel said at the time of the Journal investigation.
Asked recently for a progress report on the formulation of stem cell legislation, he said, "The Ethics Committee that exists in the Ministry of Health is mandated to review existing policies and or help in the formulation of policies with respect to the emerging field of stem cell research. That’s an ongoing exercise. We have no timelines because we will deal with international guidelines to guide us until such time as we complete a formulation of our own policy.
"Keep in mind that the whole question of stem cell research is an emerging area globally and there are few if any countries that have any firm guidelines."
Dr. Bethel pointed out that just over the last week, the American Academy of Sciences issued for the first time recommendations to the Government of The United States regarding stem cell research.
"The Bahamas is not going to be a nation that will rush to formulate any firm guidelines, but obviously we will monitor international guidelines and make recommendations based on those to the government," Dr. Bethel said.
"As it stands now, the guidelines that we are using are the ones that have been promulgated by the World Health Organization."
The Minister of Health said authorities here continue to pay attention to developments on the global scene as it relates to stem cell research.
"I think that the whole question of stem cell research boils down to balancing its benefits [against] the downside or the negative side of stem cell research," he said.
"The benefits include positive medical impact on health with respect to some disease…and the downside might be the potential abuse of research in respect of impacting on humans and human health. So it has an upside and a downside. That is why it is important that we not ignore it, but that we deal with it proactively."
The government also plans to approach the issue of cloning in the same manner, Dr. Bethel indicated.
Earlier this year, The Bahamas chose to abstain from voting on a human cloning resolution that was put to the United Nations General Assembly.
Officials here explained that it was the best option under the circumstances given that the resolution did not reflect the necessary nuances.
At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the resolution did not recognize the difference between cloning for reproductive purposes and cloning for research purposes only.
"The Bahamas wished neither to preclude all positive possibilities in the emerging field of cloning nor to support the other extreme of the possibility of a disturbing free-for-all in the private and commercial pursuit of human cloning," the Ministry’s statement said.
In his recent interview with The Bahama Journal, Dr. Bethel said that the cloning issue raises similar ethical concerns as the stem cell debate.
"I think over time and with continued debate…there may be a degree of consensus building, but at this very moment in the early stages of this emerging area there remains deep divisions with respect to cloning," Dr. Bethel said.