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New Survey Finds Overwhelming Public Support for Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research Backing Comes from a Spectrum of Religious Affiliations and Ethical Perspectives WASHINGTON, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- After hearing both sides of the issue, public support for human embryonic stem cell research is overwhelming -- 70 percent -- and includes surprisingly strong backing from fundamentalist Christians and abortion opponents, according to a national opinion survey released today. The survey shows solid support for continued federal funding of stem cell research, which scientists believe may lead to cures for many deadly diseases, and indicates that President Bush and members of Congress can reap significant public approval for decisions that advance the federal commitment to the search for life-saving medical cures. "This survey shows beyond a doubt that the American people have a strong sense of the promise of embryonic stem cell research and that they want it to go forward," said Lawrence Soler, chairman of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR). The Coalition called on the Administration to release federal funds for all types of stem cell research to the National Institutes of Health, under the NIH ethics guidelines now in place. "These results confirm that many Americans feel that this research holds enormous promise for saving lives, and that we should view it from a personal perspective rather than a political one because it's not a pro-life, pro-choice issue. I agree. Tens of millions of Americans -- and my family and I are among them -- know the pain and loss of cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. This research gives us great hope and it deserves our support," said Connie Mack, former Republican Senator from Florida. Survey participants were asked their initial opinion of stem cell research that comes from fertilized eggs. They then were given a series of arguments used by both supporters and opponents of the research. Seventy-seven percent indicated initial support. After hearing further arguments on both sides, the results showed continued, strong overall support -- 70 percent. Participants strongly supporting the research outnumbered those strongly opposed by 3 to 1. Respondents strongly favored NIH funding for stem cell research by 2.5 to 1. "Not only do the American people support stem cell research, but leading scientists, Nobel laureates, and several policymakers from both sides of the aisle agree that the research is one of the most promising avenues to curing debilitating diseases. The Administration should allow federal funding of all types of this research to go forward immediately," said Mary Tyler Moore, International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Ms. Moore has had juvenile diabetes for over 30 years. The survey -- designed to extract more detail than in previous polls about public attitudes toward the role of embryonic stem cell research -- also showed surprisingly strong support among participants who described themselves as Catholics, fundamentalist Christians and abortion opponents. "Stem cell research holds the promise of hope for 100 million people living with incurable diseases from diabetes to heart conditions to Alzheimer's to Parkinson's, ALS, MS, and spinal cord injury. It will affect the entire American family," said Christopher Reeve, Chairman of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, who was spinal cord injured in 1995. "I believe this is why we find in this new survey such strong support from people with such diverse religious and ethical beliefs." Support for the research among Catholics outstripped opposition by more than 3 to 1 (72 percent to 23 percent) and among fundamentalist Christians by almost 2.5 to 1 (63 percent to 26 percent). Both groups also favored, by wide margins, support by President Bush and members of Congress for the research. Among participants describing themselves as pro-life, more than half favored stem cell research (56 percent) and NIH funding of the research (57 percent). The survey of 1,010 adults was conducted May 10-13 by Caravan OCR International for the Coalition, a group of 49 organizations and universities involved in seeking cures to such life-threatening illnesses as cancer, diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and heart disease. For a summary of the survey results, visit http://www.stemcellfunding.org . http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-23-2001/0001500565&EDATE= ********** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn