Newsday
Middle of the Road
Bush faces a lose-lose situation with stem cell research
by  Elaine S. Povich
Washington Bureau

Washington  --  There's an old political saying that goes: "Some
of my friends are for it, some of my friends are against it, and I'm
with my friends.” President George W. Bush is facing a wrenching
decision over the difficult issue of stem cell research that has put
him right in the middle of his two groups of "friends.”

Sometime soon, probably within weeks, Bush is to make a decision
on government funding of stem cell research, which scientists say
holds great hope for curing diseases like Parkinson's, diabetes,
Alzheimer's and some forms of cancer. Public polls show Americans
favor the research, which involves using cells from unused frozen
embryos that are scheduled to be discarded.

Many Republicans, including some who are opposed to abortion,
are for the research. But the problem for the president is that most
groups opposed to abortion, including the Catholic Church, which
Bush has been assiduously courting, are adamantly against the
stem cell research because they say discarding the embryos
destroys life in its earliest stages. Bush is in New York today to
present posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Cardinal
John O'Connor.

Stem cells are the earliest building blocks of life, and they have
the capacity to turn into different kinds of specialized cells that
form the body's different parts. Because of that capacity, scientists
say they show great promise in treating diseases.

If Bush decides to go with the polls and fund the research,
he will anger anti-abortion and conservative groups that were
key to his presidential victory and that make up a significant
portion of his political base. If he decides to keep federal money
away, he will face the wrath of advocates who want research for
diseases like Parkinson's, represented publicly by actor
Michael J. Fox, and juvenile diabetes, represented by actress
Mary Tyler Moore. In addition, if he decides not to fund the
research, he will almost surely face legislation from Congress,
including from some Republicans, aimed at overturning his
decision. Even opponents of the research say a bill is likely
to pass and probably by a veto-proof majority.

In either event, Bush will be tied up in a controversial debate
to the detriment of the rest of his agenda, political analysts said.

"It's a lose-lose situation,” said conservative Hudson Institute
analyst Marshall Wittmann. "He made a solemn promise to the
pro-life community that he would prohibit stem cell research.
This is a decision that would confound King Solomon. He either
keeps that commitment and is on the wrong side of a popular issue.
Or he breaks that commitment and falls out of favor with
a significant part of his base.”

An ABC News/Beliefnet poll taken at the end of last month
showed 60 percent of respondents supported "funding for
stem cell research.” The poll had a margin of error of plus or
minus 3 percentage points. The Conference of Catholic Bishops
immediately disputed the results, saying the poll did not give
respondents a chance to differentiate between embryonic stem
cells and stem cells taken from adults. The dispute is over
embryonic stem cells, and the poll prefaced the question
with a paragraph describing embryonic stem cells. Scientists
say that while adult stem cell research is interesting, those
cells do not appear to be as promising as embryonic stem cells.

A recent report on cloning raised questions about stem cells.
The report, published in the journal Science, showed that mice
cloned from embryonic stem cells have hidden abnormalities.
Even if human embryonic stem cells have similar flaws, scientists
say, it is unlikely to bar medical use of the cells for growing
specialized tissues.

Last year, former President Bill Clinton sought to find a middle
ground in the debate. He proposed to continue the ban on using
any federal money to create new stem cells from surplus embryos,
but to federally fund research that uses stem cells initially created
with private money.

Bush was clear during the 2000 campaign in differentiating himself
from the Clinton-Al Gore policy, and his supporters took heart in
his words.

Bush "would oppose federally funded research for experimentation
on embryonic stem cells that require live human embryos to be
discarded or destroyed” a spokesman said then. As recently as
May 18, Bush, in a letter to the Culture of Life Foundation, an
anti-abortion group, wrote, "I oppose federal funding for stem cell
research that involves destroying live human embryos.”

Lately, though, he has be circumspect about his anticipated
decision. "I'm thinking about it,” Bush told reporters last week.
"There are no timetables.”

However, one timetable could be set by Bush's scheduled visit
with the pope on July 23. No group has been more vocal in
opposing the stem cell research than the Catholic Church,
which calls embryonic stem cell research "immoral.”

In anticipation of Bush's decision, the rhetoric on both sides
has been heating up. Three top Republican leaders in the House,
Majority Leader Richard Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay,
both of Texas, and Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma,
issued a statement last week, saying it was their "sincere hope”
that Bush will continue to prohibit funding for embryonic stem cell
research. They said Bush should "advance the cause of life
without sacrificing some lives to better others.”

The National Right to Life Committee is urging a letter-writing
campaign to Bush opposing the research.

But Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.)
and former Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), all staunchly opposed to
abortion, are equally strong in their support of the stem cell
research.

Hatch, for years identified with the anti-abortion movement,
in lengthy letters to Bush and Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson, spelled out that it is his belief
that using frozen embryos for research is not the same as
aborting a fetus in the womb and using that tissue for research.
The issue of fetal tissue research was something Bush's father
refused to sanction in 1992, partly because of the senior Bush's
pledges to the anti-abortion community.

"This research is... consistent with bedrock pro-life, pro-family
values,” Hatch wrote of stem cell research.

And a group of moderate Republicans called the Main Street
Coalition also has written to Bush urging him to fund the stem
cell research. Rep. Amo Houghton (R-N.Y.), founder of the
coalition, said the research "offers hope to millions of families
facing the loss of a loved one from an incurable disease or injury.”

Houghton said last week that if Bush attempts to find a middle
ground without federal funding to create new stem cells, "it's
dumb. It's not scientifically, or medically, or humanely right. If
you get religious ideologies mixed up in this, you'll never resolve
the problem. New science has to go where new science goes.”

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) is an example of someone for whom
the stem cell issue is difficult to resolve. King, who is opposed
to abortion, said last week he is opposed to embryonic stem cell
research on the same basis.

"As of now, I would still oppose research on stem cells,” King
said. "But it's a tough one. This is clearly the most difficult aspect
of the whole abortion issue, and [the issue] of when life begins.
I've been talking with a number of parents of kids who have
juvenile diabetes.”

"If there's any aspect of the pro-life issue on which I could
change my mind, this could be it, but not now,” he said.
"It has caused me the most angst.”

SOURCE: Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/daily/stem710.htm

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