OSLO, Norway — Norway’s government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to become any tissue in the body, leading scientists to see them as a possible source of medical breakthroughs. Current Norwegian law, from 2003, bars use of fertilized eggs or stem cells taken from them in research and requires eggs left over after assisted pregnancies to be destroyed. The proposed law would allow research on such eggs under strict legal and ethical limits, including consent from the parents and approval from a national ethics panel, the government proposal said. ‘The government believes if is important to use the opportunities offered by science to gain knowledge that can be used to treat serious illnesses in the future,’ Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad said in presenting the legislation. She noted that there is hope stem cell research could lead to treatments for a wide range of illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, AIDS and cancer. Brustad also said a new law would be more in line […]