Gard rips drop-off of used needles
Doyle aide's delivery backed stem-cell study
By STACY FORSTER
sforster@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 27, 2005
Photo/Governor's Office Gov. Jim Doyle poses with Isabel Kastner of Fish Creek in a photo provided by the governor's office.
Madison - An aide to Gov. Jim Doyle delivered a brown paper bag filled with used medical needles to the office of Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo) to help a Door County woman make a statement about the important of stem-cell research.
But Gard called the decision to deliver medical waste to his Capitol office an irresponsible political stunt that endangered the health of anyone who encountered it.
The bag with 1,400 capped needles and syringes was dropped off by Doyle aide Patrick Guarasci on July 19. The needles were given to a Doyle aide during a visit to Baileys Harbor on July 14 by a woman whose daughter suffers from juvenile diabetes.
Used needles are considered dangerous because they could transmit diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis B. According to the state Department of Natural Resources Web site, needles are supposed to be disposed of in puncture-resistant containers with secure caps.
Elizabeth Kastner of Fish Creek was unapologetic about sending the used needles to Gard through the governor's office. She also wrote and sent a letter.
The needles were collected between July 4, 2004, and July 4, 2005, and were used to administer insulin shots four times a day to her 12-year-old daughter, Isabel. Kastner said she wanted to educate Gard about the importance of stem-cell research, which she thinks could unlock a cure for diabetes.
"I'll do anything I can to bring attention to this issue," said Kastner, who is a member of the Democratic Party. "I wanted him to be startled by the reality of my child's disease."
Gard's displeasure with the delivery was first reported Wednesday by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Gard supported a bill that would ban all forms of human cloning in the state, but which supporters of stem-cell research said might hold back research into therapeutic cloning that they think could hold cures for many chronic diseases. The bill passed the Assembly and awaits action by the Senate, although Doyle has said he's likely to veto it.
Gard said: "Stem-cell research is alive and well in Wisconsin." The two-year state budget Doyle signed Monday includes initial funding for a multimillion-dollar stem-cell research institute.
Delivery defended
Doyle spokesman Dan Leistikow said the decision to deliver the needles was made by Susan Goodwin, Doyle's chief of staff. Doyle was busy working on the budget last week and didn't know about the delivery, Leistikow said.
He added that Doyle was on the road in western Wisconsin on Wednesday and wasn't available for comment.
Leistikow said Kastner has the right to have her opinions be heard. She couldn't make the trip to Madison, he said, and "we thought it wouldn't be the right thing to turn her down."
"She knew the needles weren't a pretty thing because she deals with them in daily life," Leistikow said. "She wanted (Gard) to know what she goes through."
Gard blasted Doyle for putting not only legislative staff at risk, but also Capitol cleaning crews and Doyle's aides. Building maintenance staff refused to dispose of the needles, so Capitol police were called and took the needles to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics for disposal, Gard said.
"In 2005, medical waste isn't something people should take lightly," Gard said. "Is there no standard of conduct left? . . . I feel deeply for her child and her situation, but you can't deliver 1,400 used needles and act like it's delivering a pizza."
A Capitol police officer called Kastner, who offered to turn herself in. No charges are expected to be filed.
Barb Bickford, medical waste coordinator for the DNR, said Kastner and Doyle's staff might have violated state laws regarding the disposal and transportation of used needles. But she added that enforcement typically starts with educating people about how to properly dispose of needles.
"It's up to (Kastner) to manage the waste, but once they received it, I hope the governor's staff and the legislators handled it safely," Bickford said.
Stem-cell research is one of the most polarizing - and emotional - issues in the Capitol.
Many backers of stem-cell research are concerned that the Legislature will chip away at its potential by enacting measures such as the cloning ban, said Ed Fallone, president of Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, a Shorewood-based non-profit group that promotes the research pioneered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"The science is so compelling, and the argument to us is so plain, but in calmly making the argument, we haven't demonstrated to lawmakers this is something we care passionately about," Fallone said, adding he and his son are diabetic.
But Susan Armacost, legislative director of Wisconsin Right to Life, which supported the bill that would ban human cloning, said adult stem-cell research has shown the most potential and that's where research should be concentrated.
"Nobody wants to hold up good research," Armacost said. But with cloning, "this is creating human life for the express purpose of destroying it."
Kastner said she is planning other such gestures to make people aware about the need for supporting stem-cell research but declined to give examples.
"(Gard) can anticipate I will do more and more . . . everything in my power I can conceive of to elicit further education," Kastner said.
Everyone:
Gard and the opponents of stem cell research are vocally protesting this stunt as if it somehow put Gard's life in danger. This is, of course, intended to do nothing more than divert attention from the real issue which is the unpopular and misguided anti-cloning bill that passed the State Assembly and is pending in the State Senate.
Nonetheless, Gard's insincere protestations are an insult to everyone living with a chronic medical condition.
Call and write John Gard immediately and tell him to focus on curing disease, and not on fearmongering.
Forward this email to your friends and loved ones and urge them to do the same. And remember, support for untested and theortetical research using adult stem cells is NOT the same thing as support for finding cures.
State Representative John Gard
rep.gard@legis.state.wi.us
telephone: (608) 266-3387
fax: (608) 282-3689
