Source:  Wired Science
McCain Makes Sharp Right Turn on Stem Cells
By Brandon Keim September 16, 2008 | 7:58:42 PMCategories: 2008 Presidential 
Election, Stem Cell Research

Republican presidential nominee John McCain would criminalize a promising 
branch of stem cell research, according to a statement issued by the 
candidate's campaign. Though such legislation would probably not survive 
Congress, he might extend President Bush's much-criticized limitation of 
embryonic stem cell research.

"I read the statement as a bad omen for stem cell research under a McCain 
administration," said George Daley, a leukemia researcher at the Harvard 
Stem Cell Institute.

The McCain campaign responded on Monday to questions about stem cell 
research posed by ScienceDebate2008, a nonpartisan science advocacy group.
In his statement, McCain at first claimed to support ESC research. However, 
he said "clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice 
moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress" --  
a qualification that disturbed many scientists and bioethicists with its 
ambiguity.

McCain also took a harder line than the Bush administration with somatic 
cell nuclear transfer, better known as therapeutic cloning -- a cutting-edge 
process that could some day provide personalized embryonic stem cell 
therapies. Though currently legal, McCain would outlaw the technique.

The new stance is an abrupt reversal for the Arizona senator. As recently as 
2007, McCain appeared to favor embryonic stem cell research more strongly 
than most of the Republican party, especially its most religiously 
conservative members. "I believe that we need to fund this," he said during 
a presidential candidates' debate in May 2007.

Since then, he's become steadily cagier in his support, courting Kansas Sen. 
Sam Brownback, an ardent opponent of all ESC research, and avoiding 
discussion of ESCs in favor of alternative cell types. Those familiar with 
the debate interpreted McCain's latest platform, which framed his support in 
the language of research opponents, as a signal that President Bush's 
research-limiting policies may continue.

"He cannot be trusted to be a supporter of embryonic stem cell research," 
said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan. "He is moving toward 
a straight pro-life stance and this sort of answer can only be read as 
such."

The language of this week's statement, said University of Wisconsin 
bioethicist R. Alta Charo, "is a close echo of Bush's language used to 
support the ban on funding for work with newer lines."

Under President Bush, federal funding is denied for all research on ESC 
lines developed after Aug. 9, 2001 -- the date of the moratorium's 
announcement.
Only 21 such lines exist, and many of these are contaminated; scientists say 
they are insufficient for serious research, much to fulfill their potential 
for treating a wide range of diseases.

"McCain's answer is deliberately ambiguous," said Charo. "Nowhere does he 
state that he will continue to support expanding embryonic stem cell 
research funding beyond the Bush policy."

McCain also denounced "the intentional creation of human embryos for 
research purposes" -- a near-verbatim version of the Republican Party 
platform -- and calls somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) a form of "fetal 
farming."

In SCNT, an egg's nucleus is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a 
patient's cell. Under chemical inducement, it forms an embryo from which, 
after five days of growth, scientists can harvest patient-specific embryonic 
stem cells -- the Holy Grail of regenerative medicine.

Under President Bush's policy, SCNT is denied federal funding, but still 
legal. McCain would make it "a federal crime for researchers to use cells or 
fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes."

"I am researching SCNT and so would be considered a criminal if McCain gets 
his way," said the Harvard researcher Daley. "It's a sad society that starts 
criminalizing legitimate science."

Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology, noted 
that the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, the National 
Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association all support SCNT. 
McCain "would fine and/or imprison scientists for this work," said Lanza.

Thomas Murray, president of the Hastings Center, a nonpartisan bioethics 
think tank, said that McCain's proposition would almost certainly be 
rejected by Congress, which has repeatedly rejected ESC-criminalizing 
legislation. Instead, he said, McCain was likely trying to placate religious 
fundamentalists.
"But if implemented, this could have quite radical implications," he said. 
"It's a far leap from anything resembling current U.S. policy."

The McCain campaign did not respond to e-mail or telephone queries regarding 
this story.

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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