From: Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
December 14, 2004 Tuesday
SECTION: CONNECTICUT; Pg. B1

HEADLINE: RELL WANTS TO FUND STEM CELL RESEARCH;
SUGGESTS $10 MILLION TO $20 MILLION IN STATE SPENDING; KEY DEMOCRAT CALLS
FOR MORE

BYLINE: CHRISTOPHER KEATING; Capitol Bureau Chief

BODY:

   Gov. M. Jodi Rell stepped into a controversial issue Monday, saying
the state
should spend $10 million to $20 million on stem cell research.

   ``I believe very much in stem cell research,'' Rell told reporters at
the
state Capitol complex. ``I believe that some seed money would be
appropriate.''

   Rell intends to set aside money from this year's state budget surplus,
but
the funding probably would be a one-time grant because Rell is projecting
difficult times and a deficit in the next fiscal year of as much as $1.3
billion.

   ``We're certainly not a California,'' Rell said. ``We can't go out to
the
billion-dollar mark. But if we can do something and hopefully garner some
matching funds, I think it frankly would be a prudent use of a one-time
revenue
deposit, if you will, from our state surplus. But we're in the very
preliminary
stages of that.''

   Pulling ahead of other states on the research, California voters
decided in a
November referendum to borrow $3 billion through the sale of bonds to
fund stem
cell research over the next decade.

   Rell's budget director, Marc S. Ryan, said a final decision has not
been made
on the amount of research money that Rell would propose in her budget in
February.

   But House Speaker-elect James Amann, a Milford Democrat, said
lawmakers
should think as boldly as California residents and pour even more money
into
research.

   ``I'm pleased that she wants to put some money toward it, but $10 to
$20
million is a drop in the bucket,'' Amann said. ``We should be thinking of
stem
cell research the same way we thought of UConn 2000. If we don't do it,
we're
missing a great opportunity.''

   UConn 2000 is the 10-year program, approved in the 1990s, to pour $1
billion
into reconstructing the state's flagship university. With interest, the
rebuilding will cost more than $2 billion -- ranking with the Adriaen's
Landing
development in Hartford as one of the most expensive projects in state
history.

   Earlier this year, Connecticut lawmakers were unable to pass any
legislation
on stem cells as the House and Senate approved different bills before
time ran
out on the session. The state Senate debate was marked by speeches in
which some
senators choked up as they told stories about relatives with medical
problems.

   ``We failed last year,'' Amann said. ``We should have done something.
Quite
frankly, we blew it.''

   Legislators, Amann said, must be sensitive to opposition to embryonic
stem
cell research from the Roman Catholic Church and others on moral grounds.
Part
of the controversy revolves around the belief that human embryos should
not be
destroyed because they constitute life.

   ``Absolutely, we have to be extremely careful,'' Amann said. ``What
they fear
is they confuse it with cloning sometimes. It's going to require a study
that
makes it quite clear that we're not aborting or using fetuses.''

   Marie Hilliard and David Reynolds, representatives of the Connecticut
Catholic Conference, could not be reached for comment Monday.

   Nationally, the research question has been highly controversial,
becoming an
issue during the presidential campaign. President Bush has limited
federal
funding for research, igniting a debate around the country.

   Proponents say research on embryonic stem cells could lead to cures
for
Parkinson's disease, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and other
illnesses. Others, including first lady Laura Bush, say proponents have
misled
Americans by stating that the research could lead to a relatively quick
cure for
Alzheimer's Disease.

   Betty Gallo, a lobbyist at the Capitol for the Connecticut Civil
Liberties
Union, knew that Rell supported stem cell research, but she added that
Rell went
a step further in offering funding. That money could help fund programs
at Yale
University and the University of Connecticut Health Center.

   ``We hadn't heard anything about money,'' Gallo said. ``We have some
premiere
research institutions here in the state. It would be great to have some
state
money.''

LOAD-DATE: December 14, 2004

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