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Sunday August 12, 11:49 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Newsweek Stem Cell Decision Bush Decided One Month Ago About Stem Cell Compromise; Sought Scientific Support, Political Positioning NEW YORK, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite appearing to agonize up to the at the last minute about federal funding for stem cell research, President Bush actually reached his decision a month ago, at the time Newsweek first reported that the compromise he finally announced was already being floated by his strategist Karl Rove, Newsweek reports in the current issue. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010812/HSSU009 ) On July 9, Bush met with two bioethicists -- Dr. Leon Kass and his colleague Dr. Daniel Callahanan -- who assured him that the compromise he already had in mind -- using the existing stem-cell ``lines'' long since taken from embryos -- would probably be far less objectionable than using frozen, early-stage embryos which would have to be destroyed in the process. Since then, Bush has used the time to gain scientific support as well as show those on the Right that he was wrestling with their religious concerns, report Chief Political Correspondent Howard Fineman, White House Correspondent Martha Brant and National Correspondent Debra Rosenberg in the August 20 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, August 13). Last week, he ended a 12-minute speech by unveiling the ``existing lines'' compromise he'd been privately market testing. Newsweek had already previewed the compromise in its July 9 cover story, ``The Stem Cell Wars,'' published July 2, reporting that although Rove was prohibited from speaking to reporters about the White House position on stem cell research, he had quietly been floating the ``existing lines'' idea. Also in early July, Bush ordered a National Institutes of Health survey of existing inventory of stem cell lines. He pressed visiting scientists on two questions: how many lines were needed and why should the government pay for work on them. There was agreement that the government had to oversee the process and speed it along. And most suggested that anywhere from 20 to 50 cell lines would be enough. But Douglas Melton of Harvard warned that many more were needed, at least 100 to start. That way, Melton told Bush on July 9, he wouldn't have to revisit the issue for some time, Newsweek reports. ``When?'' Bush asked. ``In your second term,'' Melton replied. At the end of July, the NIH reported back that it found 30 existing stem cell lines. Bush said to look again for other ``available'' lines and NIH came up with a total of 60 more worldwide, Newsweek reports. On the day of the speech last week, one of the White House's first ``heads up'' calls about the stem-cell decision went to Douglas Johnson of the powerful National Right to Life Committee, who was supportive. One of the last calls, went to the National Institutes of Health -- which will actually oversee the funding, Newsweek reports. (Read Newsweek's news releases at http://www.Newsweek.MSNBC.com Click "Pressroom.") SOURCE: Newsweek / Yahoo http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010812/nysu005a.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn