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Yahoo Daily News Monday July 16 1:56 PM ET Top Senate Republican Against U.S. Stem-Cell Funds WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican leader Trent Lott said on Monday he opposed stem-cell research using human embryos, putting pressure on President Bush (news - web sites) to block federal funding. Bush is nearing a decision on whether to permit taxpayer money to fund medical research with the embryonic 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 Bush to allow the research to go forward because of the cells' potential to treat serious illnesses. Former first lady Nancy Reagan has personally appealed to Bush to continue the funding, the Washington Post reported. Former President Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) has Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites), a degenerative malady which many scientists believe can be helped by treatments derived from stem cells. But top Republicans in Congress have stepped up pressure on Bush to block the research, including Lott of Mississippi, the Senate minority leader. ``There are some very positive things that can be done without going into the area of forming or harvesting embryonic stem cells,'' Lott said, adding that he believed the American public shared his concerns. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a Republican from Texas, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, also a Republican from Texas, and House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts, a Republican from Oklahoma, have also urged Bush to cut off funding, saying the government should not rely on ``an industry of death,'' even to find cures for diseases. 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. In contrast, the top Democrat in the Senate, Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, has urged Bush to authorize funding for the research. If Bush refuses, Daschle said he would push for passage of legislation to that effect. 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. SOURCE: Yahoo Daily News http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010716/pl/health_stemcell_lott_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