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Please disregard my posting from Saturday, Subject: Fw: The New Health Advocacy: Mr Smith Goes to Washington.Gov which contains an error. The corrected version is as follows. The tremendous impact of everyone's efforts has not changed a bit. Linda FWD: The New Advocacy: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.Gov A week ago last Friday nothing much happened. But it took the work of thousands responding within hours or minutes to an electronic call to arms to make sure that it didn't. The following is the story of the events of Thursday night last, through Monday, as related by officials at PAN and CAMR who organized and implemented the strategy that saved the day for federal funding of stem cell research. These officials also report that the New York Times piece of June 13 by Robert Pear is accurate in its analysis of the deep divisions within the Bush administration over the issue of stem cell funding. According to sources at PAN and CAMR, they received unimpeachable information a week ago Thursday night that the Bush administration was set to overturn the NIH guidelines which allow federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. These pro stem cell organizations immediately set about devising a strategy based on electronic contact with stem cell research supporters, empowering them to make their voices heard almost instantly on an important issue set to be announced in less than a day. Using the power of the Internet rather than a snail mail alert which could never have prevented the announcement, a request was sent to every pro stem cell citizen for whom they had an e-mail address, urgently requesting that calls and e-mails be sent immediately to the White House and other administration officials. By Friday morning a barrage of phone calls and e-mails supporting federal funding of stem cell research and the NIH guidelines was pouring in to White House officials. Soon the telephone mailboxes of key administration officials and members of congress were filled. Before long, the Capitol Hill switchboard itself was shut down by an overload of calls. Surprised by the intensity of the response by citizens across the country to the news of the impending announcment from the White House, the decision to announce that the guidelines would be overturned was scuttled. Although the switchboard was ultimately able to function, renewed calls for pressure on the administration went out over the weekend and a new round of phone calls and e-mails began. By midday Monday a luncheon arranged by secretary Thompson with reporters from the Washington Post was devoted in large part to the issue of stem research funding. Secretary Thompson said that he was confident a compromise could be reached that would allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Beginning with the Washington Post, a series of articles appeared in major newspapers across the country as the story developed throughout the rest of the week. The White House, in the person of Vice President Dick Cheney, sought to distance itself from Thompson's statement without directly contradicting it. As the New York Times article referred to above stated, there was and is a battle raging within the Bush administration over whether to prohibit federal funding for stem cell research. Cheney is said to be sympathetic to proponents of embryonic stem cell research, but he has refused to elaborate on his position. Other forces within the administration are pressing President Bush to maintain his opposition to such research. The struggle within the administration is acknowledged by administration officials to be a "passionate" one. Bush is said to be wooing Catholic voters to win a majority of that community in 2004. However, many of Bush's health advisers, led by Thompson, himself a Catholic who opposes abortion, have emphasized the potential value of research on embryonic stem cells. The National Institutes of Health have advised White House that such research may lead to cures for many debilitating diseases and injuries, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, burns, and spinal cord injuries. At the luncheon, Thompson expressed confidence that he expected an announcement by the end of June or early July. "I'm ready to make a decision if he asks me," he said. In the meantime, pro stem cell forces led by PAN and CAMR have vowed to continue to apply intense pressure on the administration to make it clear to President Bush that the vast majority of voters, including conservatives and fundamentalist Christian's, support such research. Officials at these two organizations have expressed their opinion that the success in preventing the announcement overturning the NIH guidelines was due to the immediate and forceful response of supporters of stem cell research, who can now be reached in a matter of minutes through e-mail appeals and electronic action alerts. As PAN and CAMR officials said, the days of using the postal system to arouse the citizenry are over. A new era in health care advocacy is here. The ordinary citizen can and will make his or her voice heard in Washington within minutes as they send their opinions through cyber-space. The internet gave the stem cell majority the opportunnity to make a decisive difference on an important public policy issue. They did just that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn