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> Subject: NEWS: Daschle Urges Bush to Approve Stem-Cell Research > From: Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 17:37:46 -0700 Reuters / Yahoo Daily News Wednesday July 11 1:55 PM ET Daschle Urges Bush to Approve Stem-Cell Research By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on Wednesday if President Bush refuses to authorize federal funding for stem-cell research, he would push legislation in Congress to do so. ``I don't think there is anything more important to research in science than the promotion of stem cell, and I believe that there is overwhelming support in the country for taking this action,'' Daschle told reporters. The South Dakota Democrat said he plans to make the case for federally funded stem-cell research during a meeting with Bush at the White House on Wednesday. Bush met in the Oval Office on Tuesday with a group of bioethicists on both sides of the emotionally charged issue. The debate pits those who believe stem cell research can lead to medical advances in a variety of illnesses against those opposed to any research that destroys human embryos. Stem cells are living cells which, in their early stages, have the ability to transform themselves into any type of cell in the body. They offer the potential of regenerating damaged organs or tissue. Many scientists believe stem cells can be used in treating brain maladies like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and spinal cord injuries. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said on Wednesday Bush was approaching his decision on stem-cell research in a careful way that reflects the ``sensitivity of all concerned.'' He gave no indication of when Bush would make the decision or which way he was leaning. ``This is a question that involves important matters of ethics, and science and hope and life,'' Fleischer said. Daschle said if Bush decides against federal funding of stem-cell research, ``it would be our intention to offer legislation (that would authorize it) and to pass it on the Senate floor in the not-too-distant future.'' He admitted he did not know if the Senate would pass the legislation. Any such measure would also have a tough time in the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. Last week, three House Republican leaders issued a joint statement opposed to federally funded stem-cell research. ``It is our sincere hope that the Bush Administration makes the right decision on the stem cell issue to uphold current law and prohibit federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research while promoting adult stem cell alternatives,'' said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay and House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts. They said, ``The federal government cannot morally look the other way with respect to the destruction of human embryos, then accept and pay for extracted stem cells for the purpose of medical research.'' If Daschle does move to bring a stem-cell research bill to the Senate floor, he may turn to one offered earlier this year by Sens. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat. With 16 co-sponsors, the measure would create one specific source for federal researchers to obtain embryos for use in stem-cell research. Only embryos that would otherwise be discarded from in vitro fertilization clinics would be used, with the consent of donating families. According to a study published on Wednesday, scientists for the first time have created stem cells from human embryos using eggs and sperm from volunteers who made the donations for the explicit purpose of providing tissue for medical research. Scientists at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk said 12 women donated eggs and two men donated sperm to create embryos that yielded a reservoir of stem cell tissue. Fleischer said the new study ``illustrates the complexity in our society in starting to deal with these issues of research, technology and life.'' SOURCE: Reuters / Yahoo Daily News http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010711/pl/health_stemcell_bush_dc_2.html * * * Note: There are MANY related web sites with LINKS on this page... * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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