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Stem cell research gets a new ally Nancy Reagan lets the White House know of her support, but the GOP is divided over the issue By Frank Bruni NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON -- Nancy Reagan has privately indicated her support for research on embryonic stem cells, and people familiar with her feelings said Thursday that two of her husband's closest former aides have carried that message to senior White House officials. Many physicians and scientists believe such research could help them make significant strides toward the treatment or cure of Alzheimer's Disease, which afflicts former President Reagan and millions of other Americans. And the signals that the former first lady has sent the White House underscore how divided the Republican Party is on the question of federal support for embryonic stem cell research. The situation also suggests both the pressure President Bush faces from some prominent Republicans -- and, alternately, the political cover they could potentially give him -- as he decides whether to permit federal support for the research. His most socially conservative supporters are urging him to oppose it. "This is one of those classic issues that, in a sense, redefines some things," said former Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., who is opposed to abortion but fully supports the research. Mack said that for Bush, it obviously makes the issue "more confusing" when someone like Nancy Reagan, who never waded into the abortion debate, has definite feelings about research on embryonic stem cells. "On the margin," Mack said, "it might have some impact. But it's hard to quantify." Two former Reagan aides, Kenneth Duberstein and Michael Deaver, have met and had telephone conversations with advisers to Bush over the past six weeks, according to people who know about the discussions. These people said Duberstein and Deaver also met with Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Republican leader, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to share with them Nancy Reagan's feelings, as well as their own. The pair's meetings with congressional leaders were first reported in Thursday's Wall Street Journal. Their discussions on the issue with White House officials have not previously been reported. Neither Duberstein nor Deaver returned telephone messages Thursday. What both men have seemingly been doing over the past six weeks, as they talked with other Republicans in Washington and around the country, is trying in an indirect way to give the Reagans' seal of approval to the research. Reagan has not publicly expressed her feelings about embryonic stem cell research. A spokeswoman for her did not return telephone calls. Former President Reagan publicly identified himself as an opponent of abortion. But the first lady was widely thought to have private views that were more permissive or at least more ambivalent. In 1994, nearly six years after her husband left office, she told students at George Washington University: "I don't believe in abortion. On the other hand, I believe in a woman's choice. "That puts me somewhere in the middle," she continued, "but I don't know what to call that." Many opponents to research on embryonic stem cells argue that it is tantamount to abortion, because it sanctions the destruction of potential human life. But some Republicans who oppose abortion favor the research, citing its potential for helping millions of Americans with an array of debilitating and sometimes fatal illnesses. Bush is expected to make a decision on federal funding for the research this month. SOURCE: The Contra Times http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/politics/stories/xstemreag_20010713.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn