Monday, July 02, 2001
Hatch peeves pro-lifers
Ruzicka, others flay his support of stem-cell science
By Lee Davidson
Deseret News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON — Pro-life supporters are calling Sen. Orrin
Hatch a traitor because the Utah Republican is pushing the
Bush administration to allow research on "stem cells" from
discarded lab-created embryos.

"I'm astounded, absolutely astounded," said Gayle Ruzicka,
president of the pro-life Utah Eagle Forum. "I have always
been defender of Orrin Hatch on the life issue. And now he
has betrayed us all."

Stem cells obtained from early embryos can develop into
specialized cells and tissues of the body, including those
for the brain, liver, heart, nerves and blood.

In a 12-page letter to the Bush administration, Hatch
urges allowing research on such cells that would be
discarded anyway by fertility labs. He quotes several
University of Utah doctors to say it could lead to
breakthroughs against cancer, Alzheimer's disease,
diabetes and heart disease.

"I support the use of federal funds to conduct research
involving human pluripotent stem cells derived from
embryos produced through the in vitro fertilization
process," Hatch wrote.

While many pro-life groups insist that life begins at
conception and abortion or other methods of terminating
development amounts to killing, Hatch wrote life has never
truly begun for the extra embryos not used in the IVF
process because they were not implanted in a uterus.
He urges they be used in research rather than discarded.

"To me a frozen embryo is more akin to a frozen unfertilized
egg or frozen sperm than to a fetus naturally developing in
the body of a mother," he wrote.

"In the case of in vitro fertilization, extraordinary human
action is required to initiate a successful pregnancy while
in the case of an elective abortion an intentional human
act is required to terminate pregnancy. These are polar
opposites," Hatch wrote.

Ruzicka disagrees. "When sperm and an egg meet, you
have life. When you have a beginning of life, whether in
a dish and they freeze it, or in the uterus, it's still life. . . .
Experimenting on human beings is wrong."

She added that pro-life leaders from around the country
have called her to ask why Hatch is taking the stance.
"We're all shocked and extremely upset. . . . No one can
take that stance and consider themselves pro-life," she
said.

Hatch and Ruzicka and other Utah GOP conservatives
have crossed swords before. In 1997, Ruzicka and others
sponsored a resolution in the Utah Republican Convention
condemning the idea of a new federally funded "welfare"
program for health care. It, and other resolutions, called
on Hatch and other GOP U.S. officeholders to become
true Republicans. The resolution passed, and Hatch took
to the stage later to chide the conservative GOP state
delegates for not wanting to help poor, uninsured children
whose parents work. His CHIP initiative later passed Congress
and is a popular program, Hatch says, helping buy insurance
for tens of thousands of poor, sick children.

In the 2000 state GOP convention Hatch narrowly escaped
a primary election by conservative attorney Greg Hawkins,
who is now running for state party chairman against a candidate
Hatch backs, as a number of conservative delegates again
opposed the longtime senator.

Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, said, "It is
unconscionable for Sen. Orrin Hatch and other lawmakers who
claim to be pro-life to sanction the direct killing of embryonic
persons."

Hatch wrote in his letter that he does consider himself pro-life,
and carefully outlined pro-life bills he has pushed through the
years including banning research on cells from aborted fetuses
and a push to ban late-term "partial-birth abortion."

Still, he wrote, he cannot "imagine Congress or the courts
somehow attempting to order every spare' embryo (from
fertility labs) through a full-term pregnancy" — so he said
they should be used in research to possibly greatly enhance
life for others.

He wrote that more than an estimated 128 million Americans
may benefit from embryonic stem cell research."

Hatch quoted several University of Utah doctors, including
Stephen Prescott, medical director of the Huntsman Cancer
Institute, who said such research "is an incredibly promising
area that has potential application in many different fields of
medicine. One of these is in the treatment of cancer."

Industrialist and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr. several
months ago told the Deseret News that Republican U.S.
senators weren't doing enough to fund or otherwise help
cancer research in America.

Hatch urged the administration to convene the National
Institutes of Health Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Review
Group "to help bring resolution to this matter." He noted
that group is to be chaired by Dr. James Kushner of the
University of Utah.

Hatch was on vacation Monday and was not immediately
available for more detailed comment about his letter.

That letter noted that some other conservatives are also
backing his view — including former Sen. (and cancer
survivor) Connie Mack, R-Fla., and Sens. Strom Thurmond,
R-S.C., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore. Smith, like Hatch, is a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That church "is reviewing the issues" of stem cell research
but has not yet taken a formal position on it, said LDS
Church spokesman Dale Bills.

Contributing: Bob Bernick Jr.
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