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The San Francisco Chronicle Boxer, on campaign trail, visits stem-cell research lab Senator pledges to fight in Congress for right to do the work John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writer Wednesday, July 2, 2003 Sen. Barbara Boxer, combining campaign politics and policy, toured a stem cell research lab in Menlo Park on Tuesday and warned she's ready to battle conservative critics of the work with human embryos. "I'm very excited by what I have seen and by the potential of stem cell research," she told about 40 workers at Geron, a biotechnology company. "You are doing what I feel is God's work." In recent years, scientists have found that stem cells, taken from days-old embryos, are building blocks that could be used to repair damaged organs and cure such ailments as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease. But because the embryos are destroyed in the process, the federal government has put strict limits on the research. Destruction of an embryo, regardless of the age or the purpose, is simply wrong, said Jan Carroll, a spokeswoman for the California Pro-Life Council. "There seems to be an aggressive movement to use human embryos for stem cell research," she said. "That's a donor who has to give up his or her life so part of the body can be used in research." Talk about cloning embryos or destroying those used in research within 15 days are simply attempts to deny the biology behind the effort, Carroll added. "They're just making excuses for using these human beings for research," she said. Boxer, wearing a white lab coat with her name stitched over the pocket, walked through a small laboratory with Jan Lebkowski, Geron's vice president of regenerative medicine. MICROSCOPE VIEW Surrounded by reporters and researchers, the senator looked through a microscope at basic, undifferentiated stem cells, then at others that had been developed into neurons that can be used to treat Parkinson's disease and into heart cells that hopefully will repair cardiac damage. By the end of the year, scientific trials could be under way with mice and rats to see if the new cells can help fix ailing hearts, Lebkowski said. "This is a very exciting time," she said. With Boxer on the ballot for re-election next year, the visit to Geron had all the trappings of a campaign stop. The senator made it clear that California voters will hear plenty more about stem cell research before the November 2004 vote. "This is going to be one of the biggest issues," she said unapologetically. "I'm going to take it on the campaign trail." A TOP GOP TARGET As one of the Senate's most liberal members and a vocal opponent of President Bush, Boxer knows she will be a top Republican target next year. But she's confident she can use issues such as the stem cell debate to steamroll her conservative opposition. Disease doesn't follow party lines or ideological labels, Boxer said. "What's a family's biggest fear?" she asked. "It isn't terrorism . . . It's about someone getting cancer, someone having heart disease . . . or a child getting ill. It's a coffee-table issue that people worry about every day." Boxer talked about a friend facing grueling surgery to ease the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. "It's personal to a lot of people," she added, because almost everyone knows someone suffering from cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes or one of the many other diseases stem cell research could target. "It sounds like Mom and apple pie to support fighting disease," she said. "Unfortunately, it's been muddied by politics." DIVIDED SENATE The stem cell battle already has split the Senate, which has failed to find filibuster-proof majorities for several competing stem cell research proposals. "In the House and the Senate, there are people who want to ban all types of stem cell research, closing that door forever," Boxer said. "They haven't succeeded because there are enough of us there to hold them back, at least for now." Bush has opposed expanded stem cell research and tightly limited the use of federal funds for the work. That has meant tough times for companies like Geron, which already has expanded its work overseas, where there are fewer restrictions on the research. "I'm worried that for the first time in our history, we're not going to be the leader in a field that holds so much promise," Boxer said. E-mail John Wildermuth at [log in to unmask] SOURCE: The San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 5 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/02/MN261859.DTL&type=printable * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn