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Confusion Mounts over HHS Secretary's Opinion of Stem Cell Research By Cheryl K. Chumley CNS Staff Writer March 08, 2001 (CNSNews.com) - President Bush's pro-life views will prevail, regardless of statements about stem cell research made by his secretary of health and human services, said one spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee. "I'm certain Bush will do the right thing," said Darla St. Martin, associate executive director for the group. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson was speaking before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday when he criticized the stem cell research law that bans federal funding for studies involving the destruction of human embryos. Confusion ensued after the hearing when Thompson's staffers reportedly announced that the secretary meant to relay the opposite message -- that he, in fact, supported the ban. Denounced by pro-lifers as the killing of humans, embryonic stem cell research is also scorned by Bush, said St. Martin, who expects the president's views will win out, regardless of the confusion surrounding Thompson's statements. Others, however, are not so sure, and demand that Bush "immediately issue an executive order banning" the research procedure because Thompson is currently allowing scientists to submit applications for grants to perform the stem cell studies. "Secretary Thompson is misinformed on this life and death issue," said American Life League's Cathy Brown, in a prepared statement. "He needs to be reined in on this illicit, if not illegal, attempt to circumvent the law," using grant application rules that are "based on corrupt National Institutes of Health guidelines." Congress has prohibited federal funds to be used for embryonic research, but the Clinton administration interpreted the law to allow for the NIH to pay for such studies if the stem cells had been derived from private sources. In January of 2001, the NIH updated its research guidelines in line with the Clinton administration's interpretations, and clarified that "pluripotent cells" were not the same as embryos, and were therefore not subject to the same funding prohibitions. However valued the pluripotent stem cells are for their perceived unlimited research potential, pro-life groups insist the cells are still derived from fetal tissues and embryos, the latter of which is destroyed during the extraction process. "For studies using human pluripotent stem cells derived from human embryos, NIH funds may be used only if the cells were derived from frozen embryos that were created for the purposes of fertility treatment, were in excess of clinical need, and were obtained after the consent of the donating couple," according to the NIH's January fact sheet on stem cell research guidelines. Scientists wishing to conduct pluripotent stem cell research using grant funds from the NIH have until mid-March to apply. It's Thompson's acceptance of such grant applications that has upset such organizations as the American Life League, who consider his actions supportive of what they view as a life-killing process. St. Martin, though, insisted that the current secretary's receipt of the funding requests does not necessarily mean he favors the research. "That [grant program] was already in process during the Clinton administration, and before the election," she said. "That doesn't mean anything ... because the next step is to actually award these grants," and Thompson may not proceed with the actual disbursement of funds. Thompson did, however, announce a presidential initiative to increase funding to the NIH grant program during another Congressional hearing Wednesday. "The NIH is the largest and most distinguished biomedical research organization in the world," he said. "For fiscal year 2002, we are proposing an increase of $2.75 billion, which will be the largest increase ever for NIH. This funding level will enable NIH to support the highest level of total research grants in the agency's history." http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchiv e%5C200103%5CCUL20010308a.html ********