The Dutch Stem Cell Taboo

The decision by U.S. President Obama to resume federal funding for stem cell research reminds one of the situation in the Netherlands, where scientists in this field are handicapped for political and religious reasons. Unlike some other countries, including the U.S., the test tube creation of embryos solely for scientific research is prohibited in the Netherlands.

The present government ratified this ban in 2007 in the Dutch government’s “coalition agreement.” As a result, a situation that already existed when the “Paars” government [a previous Dutch “Purple” coalition government involving the PvdA, VVD and D66 political parties] was in power has been perpetuated. The Embryo Law, which became effective in 2002, included such a prohibition clause, but a rider was added that it could be quickly (via Royal Decree) repealed based on new scientific insights and understandings.

Unfortunately, the successive Balkenende coalition cabinets have not exercised that option. This is not surprising, because the non-denominational majority in Parliament has, on this issue, been kept under the thumb of the CDA [Christian Democratic Alliance] and the Christian Union Party, which, just as SGP [a Dutch orthodox Protestant political party], believe that the use of embryos “is only acceptable when it is directed towards contributing to the welfare of a new life,” as House member Wiegman-Van Meppelen Scheppink (Christian Union) said in a debate in 2007.

The fact that embryonic stem cells may possibly contribute to the cure or control of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Down Syndrome, Parkinson’s, and spinal chord injuries, and thus towards improving the quality of existing life, carries less weight for the supporters of the ban.

The Netherlands, thus, has to rely, for its use of embryonic stem cells, on embryos left over after in vitro fertilization treatments. It is unfortunate that the latent political majority that opposes the embryo ban does not know how to translate this into a parliamentary decision process.

Yet, there is a glimmer of hope for patients. The journal “Science,” at the end of 2008, named as the “the breakthrough of the year” the genetic modification of human skin cells, which develop embryonic stem cell characteristics. Japanese stem cell researchers have developed this technique.

Secretary of State for Health, Welfare and Sport (PvdA), Bussenmaker, has previously indicated, to be sure, that she does not consider such “adult stem cells,” or “iPS-cells,” to be embryos that are covered by the Embryo Law. And she decided at the end of last year to implement another part of the coalition agreement: to provide a powerful stimulus to the prospects-rich research into the use of body stem cells. She made 22.4 million euros available for the “Translational Adult Stem Cell Research” program.

It remains to be seen what results this brings. In the meantime, one continues to hope that the ban on the development of embryos for scientific research will be off the table. Patients need not suffer unnecessarily long from diseases as a result of someone else’s religious beliefs.