Stem cell backers prepare to fight Bush
By Anne C. Mulkern in Washington - Leaders of a congressional effort to
boost embryonic stem-cell research will huddle soon to develop strategies
for passing their bill around President Bush's promised veto.
One option is adding the legislation to a bill Bush will have a harder time
vetoing.
"There's going to be a bill at some time that President Bush has to sign,"
said Jennifer Mullin, spokeswoman for Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, a
co-sponsor of the bill passed in the Senate earlier this month.
Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, Democratic author of the House version of
the bill, said she would repeatedly add it to legislation that goes to
Bush - an approach that could make for a lengthy game of political ping-
pong.
Political analysts and opponents of the research predict Bush would
repeatedly veto any bill that contains the language of DeGette's
legislation.
"He's so much on record as opposing this that he cannot afford to sign a
bill with that attached," said Thomas Mann, political analyst with the
Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
In a 2001 executive order, Bush limited federal funding of embryonic
stem-cell research to work on lines already in existence.
DeGette's bill would remove Bush's restrictions. It would allow funding on
lines using embryos created for in vitro fertilization and slated for
disposal.
Bush vetoed the legislation last summer after it passed the
Republican-controlled Congress. And he's vowed to do so a second time.
Research support grows
"There is a temptation to manipulate life in ways that do not respect the
humanity of the person," Bush said at a prayer breakfast shortly after the
Senate passed the bill. "When that happens, the most vulnerable among us can
be valued for their utility to others, instead of their own inherent worth."
The battle between Bush and Congress comes as polls show growing support for
embryonic stem-cell research. Many scientists say it could have the unique
ability to provide better treatments for incurable diseases.
As the debate rages in Washington, research continues outside the U.S. and
in states that provide money or grants for embryonic stem-cell research. For
Colorado, which does not, the result is the potential loss of one of the top
researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Curt Freed said he is considering going to California, one of six states
that now fund embryonic stem-cell research.
"The financial situation in California for stem-cell research is so much
better," said Freed, who uses embryonic stem cells in search of cures for
Parkinson's disease.
He said stem-cell treatments on Parkinson's patients could occur as early as
2008, even without a change in Bush's policy.
Democrats pushed the issue as part of their platform in the 2006 midterm
elections. If Bush vetoes the bill again, and if Congress forces repeated
vetoes, that could push the issue into the 2008 election.
"The opposition party is never entirely sorry when a president vetoes a
popular piece of legislation," said Ross Baker, political- science professor
at Rutgers University.
If Bush repeatedly vetoes, Republicans concerned about the issue hurting
them in the 2008 election could start voting in favor of an override, Baker
said.
But Bush also could use the issue to "accuse Democrats of playing games,"
Mann said.

Sway on voters unclear
How much the issue influences voters isn't clear.
In 2006, five senators who had voted against the stem-cell bill lost their
seats. Senators who supported federal funding of embryonic stem-cell
research replaced four of those senators. But there were many other issues
in all of those races.
In Missouri, voters in polls said they cared about stem-cell research,
although it was never the No. 1 issue, said Richard Martin, campaign manager
for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who defeated Republican Jim Talent. That
makes it hard to determine how much impact it has, he said.

1 Comment »
I will tell you how it will influence voters. Particularly the ones like
myself who are sick and tired of having a potential cure for a disease that
is a daily trial to manage vetoed by our Idiot-in-Chief.
I'd like to ask anyone with Type 1 diabetes who is of voting age, their
parents, their relatives, their friends and parents of children with Type 1
diabetes who don't get a vote, who are sick and tired of waiting for a cure
that won't come unless we fund it ourselves, to start screaming at their
representatives to get them to vote for an override. Start emailing the
nitwit in the White House and let him know that if he vetoes this
legislation again, we will turn out in droves to elect a pro-science
candidate in the 2008 elections. Probably a Democrat. Considering how tight
races were last time, I believe that there are enough of us that could be
helped by this research to influence the smallest of races. If we dragged
our loved ones, our doctors, our nurses, our endocrinologists with us, the
medical community, the people who care for us, I think we could force our
elected officials to listen. Hope springs eternal, eh?
Type 1 diabetics need to stand up and start forcing legislators to listen to
us, by any means necessary. A cure for us is in everyone's financial
interests and if it means stem cell research, then bring it on.
Vote for the Cure.
Comment by CJ - Tuesday, April 24, 2007 @ 9:04 am

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