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It was predicted earlier in the week that Gov. Thompson would be questioned about stem cell research during hiis confirmation hearing, but it appears that hasn't happened. Below are excerpts from NY Times article that highlights many of the current political issues. The full article is at the following URL: Stem Cell Research Advocates in Limbo http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/20/health/20STEM.html (Requires free registration with NY Times online-- see below) Linda Herman January 20, 2001 RESEARCH AND MORALITY By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG "...For tens of thousands of Americans with incurable illnesses not only diabetes but also degenerative brain disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases stem cell research offers the tantalizing promise of a cure. Last summer the Clinton administration issued rules that would permit the National Institutes of Health to pay for certain stem cell studies. Now Mr. Bush is considering whether to block the institutes' money before the first experiment gets under way... Mr. Bush has said he opposes federal financing of "experimentation on embryonic stem cells that require live human embryos to be discarded or destroyed." Earlier this week, a Bush spokesman, Scott McClellan, reiterated that statement and said the Clinton policy is under review. But proponents of the research say they have cause for optimism because Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin, who is Mr. Bush's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has been an enthusiastic supporter of privately financed stem cell research. At his Senate confirmation hearing today, Mr. Thompson drew praise for that support from Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. But the question of federal financing did not come up, and Mr. Thompson did not address it. In recent years, scientists have been able to extract embryonic stem cells from embryos that, typically, have been created by couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization and kept frozen at infertility clinics. Couples may direct the clinics to donate their excess embryos for research, or to keep them frozen indefinitely, or to destroy them. The stem cells hold promise for treating disease. Embryonic stem cells hold promise because they have the potential to grow into any cell in the body. Adult stem cells, which are derived from blood and bone marrow, are also promising, and Mr. Bush supports research in this area. But because embryonic stem cells can proliferate indefinitely and grow into many types of cells, medical experts see them as the building blocks of "regenerative medicine." ...For diseases that affect the brain, like Parkinson's, Huntington's and Lou Gehrig's disease, stem cells might be used to grow healthy neurons. "This is our hope," said Hal Pilkskaln of Bourne, Mass., whose wife died of Huntington's disease in 1984 and who has two children with the disease. Yet at the same time, Mr. Pilkskaln said, many advocates for patients are reluctant to call too loudly for government-financed stem cell research; they fear that they will be labeled troublemakers, and that private research money will dry up. "Because it has been so politicized," he said, "it makes it difficult to stand up and say, `This is what I want.' " For that reason, advocacy groups are treading gingerly. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation commissioned a poll that, a spokesman said on Wednesday, found that 65 percent of Americans supported federal financing for stem cell research. And Dan Perry, executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research, a nonprofit group in Washington, said a coalition of patients' groups would send a nonconfrontational letter to Mr. Bush asking him to "leave the current situation untouched." "We are trying to keep a low profile on this," Mr. Perry added. .... since 1995 Congress has imposed an annual ban on federal financing of research that leads to the destruction of human embryos. In January 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the ban did not apply to human embryonic stem cells, and said it would issue rules to govern research.... The new rules were issued last August; they permit federally financed scientists to experiment with cell lines derived from embryos, so long as those scientists do not extract the cells from embryos themselves. The health institutes are soliciting grant applications; they are due on March 15. ... Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, an abortion opponent, has spoken out strongly in favor of stem cell studies. Mr. Thurmond has a daughter with diabetes. Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, who has a relative with Parkinson's disease, also favors stem cell research. "Part of my pro-life ethic is to make life better for the living," Mr. Smith has said in letters to constituents. The stem cell controversy has echoes of a similar dispute, over fetal tissue research, that arose when Mr. Bush's father assumed the presidency. At that time, in 1989, abortion opponents urged President George Bush to extend a ban on federally financed fetal tissue research. He did, but the ban was lifted by President Clinton, and Congress has since enacted legislation permitting the studies. As the debate over stem cell research continues, there has been an explosion in private research among scientists like Dr. Melton, of Harvard. That troubles some medical ethicists, who say that without federal financing, there is no federal regulation, leaving a field heavy with ethical implications to profit-making entrepreneurs. Dr. Melton, meanwhile, says unless the National Institutes of Health can pay for the research, the field will not progress. "Great advances are made when they give grants to large numbers of people who have new ideas," he said. "And so it would be a mistake if everyone counted on a few of us." In the meantime, patients and their families are watching and waiting. To them, the transition of power in Washington, an event from which many Americans feel removed, is a deeply personal matter. "We're not talking about your livelihood or your job or how the traffic flows," said Judy Culpepper, whose husband, Brett, recently underwent a fetal tissue transplant for his Parkinson's disease. "We are talking about affecting your ability to survive." " The New York Times on the Web http://www.nytimes.com Visit NYTimes.com for complete access to the most authoritative news coverage on the Web, updated throughout the day. Become a member today! It's free! http://www.nytimes.com?eta