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> Subject: ARTICLE: Conservative Mack backs stem cell work > From: Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 05:54:19 -0700 Miami Herald Published Thursday, July 12, 2001 Conservative Mack backs stem cell work He uses his clout to push for funding BY FRANK DAVIES [log in to unmask] WASHINGTON -- As the struggle grows within the Bush administration over whether to prohibit federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, Connie Mack, an anti-abortion Republican and former Florida senator, is playing a prominent role in urging the White House to allow the biomedical work. Mack has clout because his conservative credentials are impeccable: He's a Catholic and longtime opponent of abortion willing to clash with his church's hierarchy on the contentious stem cell issue. Conservative Catholics and church leaders, along with anti-abortion activists, are pressing President Bush to resist funding. They say that in obtaining embryonic stem cells, scientists are destroying human life that has inviolable rights. Researchers see rich potential in embryonic cells, taken from embryos discarded after in vitro fertilization, that could lead to new treatments for diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, damaged spinal cords and other diseases and injuries. This issue, with its uneasy mix of politics, ethics and religion, has deeply divided the administration, and the White House has promised a decision soon. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of Health and Human Services, is a Catholic who supports the research. Top Bush advisor Karl Rove, mindful of the Catholic vote, is worried that support for funding would anger Bush's hard-core conservative base. Mack, whose family has been hit hard by cancer, has entered the debate as a longtime advocate of more federal funding for medical research. ``This is a high-stakes issue with important ethical considerations, and thoughtful people can disagree about it,'' said Mack from his Palm Island home in Lee County. ``The potential for this research is tremendous, and I think we have to push the frontiers of medical research as rapidly as we can.'' Mack said the church doctrine that life begins at conception has to be tempered by scientific advances: ``A fertilized egg in a petri dish or test tube -- I don't see that as life. And if that embryo is to be discarded, it makes good common and ethical sense to use it toward research to help extend life for others.'' Mack, who has close ties to the Bush family, has spoken to Rove and Chief of Staff Andrew Card, urging that research be allowed. He has sent a letter to the president, written editorial pieces and appeared in TV discussions. Mack retired from the Senate this year after 12 years. He was recently hired as senior strategist for Shaw-Pittman, a major Washington law firm, and recently co-hosted a forum at the firm for Alberto Gonzales, White House counsel. ``Connie Mack has been one of the important leaders on this issue, going back to his days in the Senate, and people listen to him,'' said Rep. Peter Deutsch, a Broward County Democrat who also supports embryonic stem cell research. In the process, Mack has disagreed with church leaders. He recently debated Richard Doerflinger, a policy analyst at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, who reminded Mack that Pope John Paul II declared last year that embryos, from the moment of fertilization, are human life to be protected. Polls show Catholics may support the controversial research, but much depends on how the questions are worded. Doerflinger said most Americans oppose ``the destruction of human embryos.'' Mack said he has told administration officials that ``the Catholic vote, like any large group, is not monolithic, with many differing views.'' Rep. Clay Shaw, a Fort Lauderdale Republican and a Catholic, also supports funding for embryonic stem cell research, and recognizes how difficult this sensitive political issue has become for the White House. ``It's really tough when you have your base pushing hard in one direction,'' said Shaw, adding that the medical community and advocacy groups for funding research for various diseases ``are pushing hard the other way.'' Disease can change perspectives. Republicans are very aware that former President Ronald Reagan suffers from Alzheimer's. Card's father died of Parkinson's. Shaw said he was moved by the appeal of a Palm Beach Gardens girl with advanced diabetes. And the science is shifting rapidly. This week, as Bush met with a group of bioethicists, scientists in Virginia announced they had become the first in the world to harvest embryonic stem cells from embryos made from eggs and sperm donated for the explicit purpose of providing tissue for research. In the House, Majority Whip Tom DeLay said Wednesday that the news that ``human embryos would be deliberately destroyed to obtain their stem cells is absolutely appalling.'' At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer said the latest report was ``a perfect illustration of the deep complexities'' of the issue. ``The president views this as a reminder that this is not a simple matter, that it involves very sensitive and important issues that are fundamental about life,'' he said. SOURCE: Miami Herald http://www.miami.com:80/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/107287.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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