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Wednesday, June 13, 2001 Embryo cell research debated in Bush administration Robert Pear / New York Times There is a battle raging in the Bush administration over whether to prohibit federal support for biomedical research that uses cells derived from human embryos, federal officials say. On one side are officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who emphasize that experiments with embryonic stem cells could lead to new treatments and cures for many diseases. On the other side are some top presidential advisers, led by Karl Rove, who say they worry that federal support for such research will alienate the Catholic Church and voters that oppose abortion. Administration officials, trying to frame the issue for a decision by President Bush, have been reviewing his campaign statements, which generally expressed disapproval of research that used embryonic stem cells. But officials said they had found ambiguities that might allow some research. Under guidelines written by the Clinton administration but not yet implemented, federally funded researchers may not destroy embryos but may conduct experiments on cells that privately funded researchers have retrieved from embryos. The Bush administration suspended those guidelines, saying it wanted to review the scientific and ethical implications of the work since embryos are destroyed when the cells are retrieved. A decision is expected in the next few weeks. President's decision Administration officials said they are seeking a compromise that would take into account moral objections to the research without forfeiting its potential benefits. Vice President Dick Cheney met recently with leaders of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, which leads a coalition lobbying for embryonic stem cell research. Aides said that Cheney was sympathetic to the proponents of the research but would not describe his position. "This is the president's decision to make," said Juleanna Glover Weiss, Cheney's press secretary. "There are passions on both sides. It's a very, very difficult issue." In a recent letter to the Culture of Life Foundation, a group opposed to abortion, Bush expressed his position carefully. "I oppose federal funding for stem cell research that involves destroying living human embryos," he said. "I support innovative medical research on life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including promising research on stem cells from adult tissue." For years, scientists believed that adult stem cells had less therapeutic value than embryonic stem cells; that remains the prevailing view, although recent discoveries have prompted a reevaluation. Internal rift The administration's internal debates have highlighted a rift between the president's political advisers and those who advise him on science and health policy, officials said. Rove, the president's chief political adviser, is advocating the position held by many conservatives and Catholics who oppose this type of research. Opponents say that in the process of obtaining embryonic stem cells scientists destroy the embryos, thus killing human life to secure research material. Pope John Paul said last year that embryos were, from the moment of fertilization, a form of human life and should be protected as "human persons" with inviolable rights. In recent weeks, Bush has been wooing Catholic voters, whom he sees as important members of the political coalition that supported him. Republicans said they are determined to win a majority of Catholic voters in 2004. On the other hand, many of the president's health policy advisers, led by Thompson, a Catholic who opposes abortion, emphasize the potential value of research on embryonic stem cells. Such primordial cells can reproduce themselves and could, in theory, be manipulated to create an unlimited supply of almost any cells in the human body -- although not a whole organism. The National Institutes of Health has advised the White House that such research promises new treatments and possible cures for many debilitating diseases and injuries, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, burns and spinal cord injuries. Thompson expressed confidence that a compromise could be reached within the next few weeks. "I'm ready to make the decision if he asks me," he said. -- The Washington Post contributed to this report. http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=84351688 ********* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn