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Monday July 2 7:55 PM ET Top Republicans Against U.S. Stem-Cell Funding WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three top House Republicans expressed opposition on Monday to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, saying the government should not rely on ``an industry of death,'' even to find cures for diseases. The Bush administration is considering whether to permit taxpayer money to fund medical research on embryonic stem cells, which scientists think have the potential to treat illnesses such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Many abortion opponents call embryonic stem-cell studies immoral, but some anti-abortion lawmakers have urged President Bush to allow the research to go forward because of the cells' potential to treat serious illnesses. Under Clinton administration rules, federal funds could pay for stem-cell studies if private scientists harvested the cells from embryos slated to be discarded at fertility clinics. Arguing against federal stem-cell research, three House leaders said in a statement the government ``cannot morally look the other way with respect to the destruction of human embryos, then accept and pay for extracted stem cells'' for research. ``It is not pro-life to rely on an industry of death, even if the intention is to find cures for diseases,'' said the statement from House Majority Leader Richard Armey and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, both of Texas, and House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. The lawmakers said they hoped the administration would prohibit federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research and instead promote studies on stem cells from adult tissue as possible treatments for serious illnesses. They said the Republican-led Congress would continue to ''properly fund'' medical research ``but it must advance the cause of life without sacrificing some lives to better others.'' http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010702/pl/congress_cells_dc_1.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn