The House passed yesterday, 247 to 176 with 37 moderate Republicans in favor, HR 5 the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Predictably, Mr. McHugh, along with Mssrs. Walsh and Kuhl were opposed, again waving their true arch conservative colors and un-yielding support for George Bush. We must add these three to those who offer us only “Blood, Oil, Fears and Debt.” This vote reconciled the Senate and House versions. It next goes to George Bush for his probable veto – Only 591 days to a Democratic President.

Here is an non exhustive list of potential diseases for which stem cells have potential use:

Diabetes
Parkinsonism
Alzheimer’s
spinal cord injuries
Lou Gehrig’s (ALS)
cystic fibrosis
stroke
burns
heart disease
osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
multiple sclerosis
the muscular dystrophies
kidney and liver disease that end in organ failure
cardiomyopathy (heart failure)
Brain Cancer
Retinoblastoma
Ovarian Cancer
Skin Cancer: Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Testicular Cancer
Multiple Myeloma
Myelodysplasia
Breast Cancer
Neuroblastoma
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Ewing’s Sarcoma
Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
POEMS syndrome
Myelofibrosis
Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia (ALL)
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia
Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (JCML)
Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML)
Refractory Anemia (RA)
Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts (RARS)
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts (RAEB)
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation (RAEB-T)
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)
Aplastic Anemia (Severe)
Fanconi Anemia
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH)
Pure Red Cell Aplasia
Acute Myelofibrosis
Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia (myelofibrosis)
Polycythemia Vera
Essential Thrombocythemia
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Hodgkin’s Disease
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
Chronic Granulomatous Disease
Neutrophil Actin Deficiency
Reticular Dysgenesis
Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia
Glanzmann Thrombasthenia
Osteopetrosis
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thrombocytopenia
Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS)
Hurler’s Syndrome (MPS-IH)
Scheie Syndrome (MPS-IS)
Hunter’s Syndrome (MPS-II)
Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS-III)
Morquio Syndrome (MPS-IV)
Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS-VI)
Sly Syndrome, Beta-Glucuronidase Deficiency (MPS-VII)
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Mucolipidosis II (I-cell Disease)
Krabbe Disease
Gaucher’s Disease
Niemann-Pick Disease
Wolman Disease
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
Familial Erythrophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
Histiocytosis-X
Hemophagocytosis
Beta Thalassemia Major
Sickle Cell Disease
Ataxia-Telangiectasia
Kostmann Syndrome
Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency
DiGeorge Syndrome
Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome
Omenn’s Syndrome
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)
SCID with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency
Absence of T & B Cells SCID
Absence of T Cells, Normal B Cell SCID
Common Variable Immunodeficiency
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder
Multiple Myeloma
Plasma Cell Leukemia
Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia
Amyloidosis
Ewing Sarcoma
Neuroblastoma
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Retinoblastoma
Lupus erythematosis
Sjogren’s Syndrome
Myasthenia Gravis
Autoimmune Cytopenia
Scleromyxedema
Scleroderma
Crohn’s Disease
Behcet’s Disease
Juvenile Rhematoid Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis
Polychondritis
Systemic Vasculitis
Alopecia Universalis
Buerger’s Disease
Hurler’s Syndrome
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Krabbe Leukodystrophy
Osteopetrosis
Cerebral X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy

Get the picture: McHugh, Walsh and Kuhl along with Bush don’t care about you and do nothing for us, including the 47,000,000 Americans without insurance who can’t even dream of the possibilities of advanced healthcare, much less routine healthcare. But why should they care: they have the best health insurance and therefore access to the best health care in the world.

This is real personal for me: I’ve dedicated my life to caring for the sick and suffering and I resent those that inflict more of it upon us.