Stem cell research corners president
Will it lead to cures at the expense of embryos? Bush must decide
on federal funding.
BY DAVID JACKSON
DALLAS MORNING NEWS

WASHINGTON The complex and often competing worlds
of science, religion and politics are colliding at President Bush's
office door.

The subject is research on stem cells taken from human embryos.
The argument is whether it represents a dramatic breakthrough
in the war against disease or an "industry of death."

Bush must decide whether to allow federal aid for such research,
a step that supporters say would also boost private efforts.
Those supporters are bombarding the White House with evidence
that embryonic stem cells, which can develop into any of the
body's tissues, can lead to cures for diabetes, paralysis,
Parkinson's and perhaps other diseases.

But critics, notably Catholic Church officials and some abortion
opponents, stress that retrieving the cells requires destroying
the embryos, which they say amounts to taking human lives.
They advocate the use of adult stem cell instead.

Not all abortion opponents oppose the use of embryonic stem
cells, however.

Some prominent anti-abortion Republicans, including Sen.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have urged Bush to approve federal aid,
citing the life-extending potential of the research.

Other members of the GOP, including House leaders Dick Armey
and Tom DeLay of Texas, have urged the president to reject
what they call "life-destroying" methods of research.

"Once we begin justifying the killing of human beings at one
stage of development, we invite extensions of this reasoning
to include other, even more troubling applications," DeLay
said Wednesday on the House floor.

Supporters at work
Supporters of the research fear that Bush will appease his
conservative supporters by forbidding federal aid. They are
appealing to lawmakers and voters acquainted with debilitating
diseases in a strategy that includes testimonials from celebrities
such as Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, and Mary
Tyler Moore, who has diabetes.

"This is not an abortion issue; this is a research issue,"
said Lawrence Soler, chairman of the lobbying group Coalition
for the Advancement of Medical Research.

Current rules allow federal money to be used only for embryonic
stem cell research that uses cells already culled from embryos;
funds cannot be used to extract new stem cells. Bush can either
strike down or expand that rule. Aides said he may also try
to fashion a compromise, but they are wary of alienating
all sides in this emotional debate.

Even the timing is problematic. White House aides have
discussed whether to make an announcement before Bush's
late July meeting with one of the issue's most prominent
opponents: Pope John Paul II.

White House officials said Bush understands the sensitivities
of the issue and has solicited views from abortion opponents,
bio-ethicists and people with diseases that are the subject
of the research.

"The president is very aware that there is a balance
on this issue, where there is so much potential for health
and for breakthroughs," press secretary Ari Fleischer said.
"On the other hand, the president is very concerned about
preserving a culture of life."

Science divided
Scientists also are divided on the morality of destroying
embryos for this purpose.

"It's immoral to take the life of one individual, even though
you may benefit the life of another," said Dr. David Stevens,
executive director of the Christian Medical Association.

Stevens and other opponents are promoting research
of stem cells taken from adults, saying they hold as much
promise as the younger stem cells.

But other doctors say adult cells have less value for
fighting disease.

Richard Hynes, director of the MIT Center for Cancer Research,
said the use of embryos should be tightly regulated but available
for fertilization treatments. He added, however, that something
should be done with embryos created in fertility clinics that
would otherwise be destroyed.

"They're sitting in freezers all around the world and they're
going to be thrown away if they're not used," Dr. Hynes said.

GOP rift
Members of Bush's own party are split on the issue, too.

Former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack of Florida, an abortion opponent
and a cancer survivor, said in a statement: "Every American
family has faced the terrible ordeal of watching a loved one
pass away under the shadow of a disease for which the doctors
had no adequate response."

"Stem call research raises new hopes for people in pain and
distress," he said. "I cannot sit by and let those hopes go
unexplored."

Thirty-eight House Republicans sent a letter to Bush
advocating stem cell research. But that triggered a letter
of opposition from Armey, DeLay and Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla.
They told Bush that "it is not pro-life to rely on an industry
of death, even if the intention is to find cures for diseases."

Bush also faces political pressure from Democrats,
who control the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said
Wednesday that if Bush blocks federal aid for embryonic
stem cell research, he will bring the issue to the floor.

"There are a growing number of Republicans and Democrats
who are committed to ensuring that these diseases are dealt
with in the most comprehensive way, including research on
stem cell," he said.

Bush's administration also is divided on the issue.
Tommy Thompson, secretary of health and human services,
supports the research; top political adviser Karl Rove
opposes it.

Some proponents of embryonic stem cell research fear
the administration's efforts to attract the Catholic vote
could lead to a federal ban. But administration officials said
politics will not be part of Bush's equation.

"We're looking at all the legal, ethical and scientific issues
involved," spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Gary Bauer, former presidential candidate and president of
an organization called American Values, said he and other
abortion opponents are dismayed it has taken so long for
Bush to redeem a campaign promise.

"It looks to the average American like they're running
around taking polls and trying to figure out how American
Catholics are going to react, rather than taking a stand
of principle," Bauer said. "I think they're going to suffer
political damage either way they go."

Published 7/15/2001

SOURCE: DALLAS MORNING NEWS
http://www.inlandempireonline.com/news/stories/071501/stem.shtml

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