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Isn't it nice to know we have a president who is still listening to alternatives and has not closed his mind. This is wonderful news. Norma Dikeman Murray Charters wrote: > The Dallas Morning News > Monday August 6, 2001 > Bush ponders idea on stem cell study > Proposal based on unproven theory > 08/05/2001 > Chicago Tribune > > WASHINGTON – President Bush, eager to find middle ground > on the volatile issue of embryonic stem cell research, > is considering an unproven scientific theory that stem cells > can be taken from a human embryo without destroying it. > > Mr. Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove, and Vice President > Dick Cheney's chief counselor, Mary Matalin, met separately > recently with Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., to discuss Mr. > Bartlett's claims that the stem cells used in scientific research > could be "cleaved" from the embryo in a way that would allow > the embryo to reform and, possibly, still be implanted > in a woman's womb. > > "This is a solution that I believe everyone in Congress can > support to the perplexing controversy concerning embryonic > stem cell research," Mr. Bartlett, a former physiology professor > at the University of Maryland and a one-time researcher > at the National Institutes of Health, said in a letter he circulated > on Capitol Hill. > > The White House continued to grapple with the stem cell issue > during a week marked by several legislative victories before the > president's departure for Texas for a lengthy working vacation. > > So far, however, the ability to cleave cells while preserving the > human embryo is an untested theory. Activists on both sides > of the debate said the White House's pursuit of such an untried > scientific technique is an indication of how eager the > administration is to find politically safe ground on an issue > viewed as a defining event of Mr. Bush's short tenure. > > The White House confirmed the meetings, and Mr. Bartlett's > staff said there had been several follow-up discussions. > > But there was no indication from the White House when > Mr. Bush would make a decision on Mr. Bartlett's proposal > or what alternatives he is studying on federal financing > of stem cell research. > > Even as the White House weighs Mr. Bartlett's proposal, > researchers have said that the techniques he advocates > are untested and potentially overly burdensome to scientists. > > The abortion foes Mr. Bush would seek to appease with such > a proposal are lining up against Mr. Bartlett's plan, insisting > there is no guarantee that embryos wouldn't be destroyed, > an act they equate with abortion. One group, > American League for Life, conducted a news conference Friday > near the White House to deride Mr. Bush for "selling out" > conservative voters by breaking a campaign promise in even > seeking a compromise. > > Embryonic stem cells, which have been available to researchers > for only the last three years, can be manipulated to create tissue, > blood and nerves and have excited millions of people with their > promise of new treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, juvenile > diabetes and other diseases. > > What Mr. Bartlett proposes is that a small part of a days-old > embryo could be carved away before the embryo is implanted > in a woman's womb. Stem cells would be taken from the > cleaved portion of the cell cluster. The remaining embryo > would be allowed to rejuvenate and, if the timing is precise, > be implanted. > > But even the researchers Mr. Bartlett consulted caution that > the technique is only "theoretically possible." No one has > taken stem cells from a human embryo without destroying it. > > SOURCE: The Dallas Morning News / The Chicago Tribune > http://www.dallasnews.com/national/436441_stemcell_05nat.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