----- Original Message -----
From: "Murray Charters" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 4:40 PM
Subject: CALIFORNIA: Senator Pledges To Fight in Congress For Right To Do
Embryonic Stem-Cell Research


> The San Francisco Chronicle
> Boxer, on campaign trail, visits stem-cell research lab
> Senator pledges to fight in Congress for right to do the work
> John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writer
> Wednesday, July 2, 2003
>
> Sen. Barbara Boxer, combining campaign politics and policy, toured a stem
cell research lab in Menlo Park on Tuesday
> and warned she's ready to battle conservative critics of the work with
human embryos.
>
> "I'm very excited by what I have seen and by the potential of stem cell
research," she told about 40 workers at Geron,
> a biotechnology company.
>
> "You are doing what I feel is God's work."
>
> In recent years, scientists have found that stem cells, taken from
days-old embryos, are building blocks that could be
> used to repair damaged organs and cure such ailments as juvenile diabetes
and Parkinson's disease. But because the
> embryos are destroyed in the process, the federal government has put
strict limits on the research.
>
> Destruction of an embryo, regardless of the age or the purpose, is simply
wrong, said Jan Carroll, a spokeswoman for
> the California Pro-Life Council.
>
> "There seems to be an aggressive movement to use human embryos for stem
cell research," she said. "That's a donor who
> has to give up his or her life so part of the body can be used in
research."
>
> Talk about cloning embryos or destroying those used in research within 15
days are simply attempts to deny the biology
> behind the effort, Carroll added.
>
> "They're just making excuses for using these human beings for research,"
she said.
>
> Boxer, wearing a white lab coat with her name stitched over the pocket,
walked through a small laboratory with Jan
> Lebkowski, Geron's vice president of regenerative medicine.
>
> MICROSCOPE VIEW
>
> Surrounded by reporters and researchers, the senator looked through a
microscope at basic, undifferentiated stem cells,
> then at others that had been developed into neurons that can be used to
treat Parkinson's disease and into heart cells
> that hopefully will repair cardiac damage.
>
> By the end of the year, scientific trials could be under way with mice and
rats to see if the new cells can help fix
> ailing hearts, Lebkowski said.
>
> "This is a very exciting time," she said.
>
> With Boxer on the ballot for re-election next year, the visit to Geron had
all the trappings of a campaign stop. The
> senator made it clear that California voters will hear plenty more about
stem cell research before the November 2004
> vote.
>
> "This is going to be one of the biggest issues," she said
unapologetically. "I'm going to take it on the campaign
> trail."
>
> A TOP GOP TARGET
>
> As one of the Senate's most liberal members and a vocal opponent of
President Bush, Boxer knows she will be a top
> Republican target next year. But she's confident she can use issues such
as the stem cell debate to steamroll her
> conservative opposition.
>
> Disease doesn't follow party lines or ideological labels, Boxer said.
>
> "What's a family's biggest fear?" she asked. "It isn't terrorism . . .
It's about someone getting cancer, someone
> having heart disease . . . or a child getting ill. It's a coffee-table
issue that people worry about every day."
>
> Boxer talked about a friend facing grueling surgery to ease the symptoms
of Parkinson's disease.
>
> "It's personal to a lot of people," she added, because almost everyone
knows someone suffering from cancer, heart
> disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes or one of the many other diseases stem cell
research could target.
>
> "It sounds like Mom and apple pie to support fighting disease," she said.
"Unfortunately, it's been muddied by
> politics."
>
> DIVIDED SENATE
>
> The stem cell battle already has split the Senate, which has failed to
find filibuster-proof majorities for several
> competing stem cell research proposals.
>
> "In the House and the Senate, there are people who want to ban all types
of stem cell research, closing that door
> forever," Boxer said. "They haven't succeeded because there are enough of
us there to hold them back, at least for
> now."
>
> Bush has opposed expanded stem cell research and tightly limited the use
of federal funds for the work. That has meant
> tough times for companies like Geron, which already has expanded its work
overseas, where there are fewer restrictions
> on the research.
>
> "I'm worried that for the first time in our history, we're not going to be
the leader in a field that holds so much
> promise," Boxer said.
>
> E-mail John Wildermuth at [log in to unmask]
>
> SOURCE: The San Francisco Chronicle  Page A - 5
>
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/02/MN261859.DTL&type
=printable
>
> * * *
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