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> Subject: NEWS: Bush Seeks Elusive Compromise on Stem Cell Research > From: Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 12:34:16 -0700 Reuters Tuesday July 10 1:36 PM ET Bush Seeks Elusive Compromise on Stem Cell Research By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The simmering U.S. debate over stem-cell research could come to a boil soon, as the Bush administration looks for middle ground while the Roman Catholic Church maintains there is no acceptable compromise. On one side of the debate, celebrities including Parkinson's patient Michael J. Fox, diabetic Mary Tyler Moore and quadriplegic Christopher Reeve have testified before Congress about medical advances that might be made using embryonic stem cells. But opponents, notably the Catholic Church's Office of Pro-Life Activities, some abortion foes and several powerful anti-abortion members of Congress, have warned any research that destroys human embryos will not get their approval. Somewhere in the middle is the White House, where presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) has been getting daily questions about when President Bush (news - web sites) will decide on whether this research can go forward. ``The president is a very decisive man and he's going to carefully weigh all sides of the issue, listen to what he's hearing, and approach the issue seriously,'' Fleischer told reporters. At issue is whether federal funds may be used in this research. The Clinton administration approved guidelines that would have cleared the way for this, but in February Bush ordered a review of that policy and in April his administration canceled the first meeting of a panel at the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) that would have considered research proposals for federal grants to study embryonic stem cells. ``The president understands the promise of science in this issue,'' Fleischer said on Monday. ``Science is about people's lives. The president also respects a culture of life. That too is about lives.'' CRUX OF THE MATTER And that is the crux of the matter. Even some of those who oppose abortion, like Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (news - bio - voting record) of Utah, support the promise of embryonic stem-cell research, using stem cells from embryos produced through in vitro fertilization that were slated for disposal. In Hatch's view, since these cells are going to be discarded anyway, they are appropriate for use in research. And most scientists, including 80 U.S. Nobel laureates, have hailed the promise of this research and called on Bush to support it. Embryonic stem cells are early master cells that form soon after a human egg is fertilized. They can develop into many different kinds of cells, and their protean nature offers promise for treatment of such diverse ailments as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. However, opponents say that because these cells are taken from embryos that have the potential to develop into people, their use constitutes destruction of human life and is therefore morally unacceptable. "`We think that any new funding for research that relies on the destruction of human embryos will not be a compromise,'' said Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Catholic Conference's Office of Pro-Life Activities, which deals with the stem-cell issue. ``It will be a bad policy.'' Still, Tommy Thompson, an abortion opponent who heads the Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Department, has said a compromise is possible. ``Hopefully we'll come up with a decision that's going to allow for the continuation of research, which is very important, and at the same time take into consideration the legal and the ethical questions that have to be considered,'' Thompson told The Washington Post on June 12. In the same interview, he said a compromise could be reached within weeks. Nearly a month later, Thompson's spokesman said on Tuesday the decision is up to the White House, and the White House has said there is no timetable for a decision. Meanwhile, Bush himself was in New York on Tuesday, awarding a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to the late Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor. He plans to meet with Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II in Rome later this month. Bush's political advisers have reportedly told him that Catholic voters will be essential to future political hopes. In last year's presidential contest, Catholic voters narrowly favored Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites), who got 49 percent of the Catholic vote compared with Bush's 44 percent, according to the Gallup polling organization. SOURCE: Daily News Yahoo / Reuters http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010710/pl/health_stemcell_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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn