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The source of this article is USATODAY: http://tinyurl.com/dfkw4 Friendly Pa. senators at odds in stem cell debate By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Pennsylvania's two Republican senators, Arlen Specter of Philadelphia and Rick Santorum of Pittsburgh, have avoided open spats. "I don't think we've ever come close to airing our differences publicly," the moderate Specter said of his conservative colleague. Until now. As the Senate prepares to debate next month whether to allow federal funding for stem cell research using human embryos, the Pennsylvanians have taken leading roles on opposite sides. Santorum believes such research entails destroying human life. Specter says the stem cells used would come from embryos that would otherwise be discarded. Their conflicting positions, despite shared constituents and political affiliation, illustrate the rift within the Republican Party over the matter. Last month, 50 House Republicans ignored President Bush's veto threat and split from their party to support more federal funding for stem cell research. Now Specter, sponsor of a similar Senate bill, finds himself squared off against Santorum, who as the Senate's third-ranking leader speaks for the party hierarchy. "I don't know of another issue that is this high profile and this controversial in which both have played such tremendous leadership roles," says Terry Madonna, a political scientist at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. Perhaps no other issue is as personal to the men Madonna calls "Pennsylvania's odd couple": •Specter. Having survived a brain tumor and heart-bypass surgery, Specter was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease this year. At 75, he is again fighting for his life. The chairman of a key health appropriations panel, which has doubled funding for the National Institutes of Health, is bald from biweekly chemotherapy treatments. No latecomer to the stem cell issue, he held the first congressional hearing on stem cells' medical potential in December 1998. Specter believes stem cell research could lead to a possible cure for his type of lymphatic cancer, as well as Parkinson's, diabetes and other diseases. "My own experience with Hodgkin's creates a lot of personal anger that the federal government has not done more," Specter says. Referring to Richard Nixon's 1971 vow to find a cure for cancer, he says, "If that war on cancer had been funded as well as their other wars, I think I wouldn't be taking chemotherapy today." 'We do have sharp differences' Specter's feelings were on display in an emotional exchange on ABC in May with conservative Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who has threatened to block his stem cell bill. Brownback tried to make a point by asking, "When did your life biologically start?" Specter replied, "Sam, I'm a lot more concerned ... about when my life is going to end." • Santorum. The father of six and a devout Catholic, Santorum equates embryonic stem cell research with abortion. "I don't believe the federal government should countenance the destruction of human life, " he says. "It's all about politics, about scientists who want to play God. ... Science is not a moral-free zone." Santorum, 47, says he's gotten "a lot of schooling on this issue" from his wife, Karen, a former neonatal intensive-care nurse, and her father, a geneticist. During a 1996 Senate debate on late-term abortion, he and Karen learned that the fetus she was carrying had a fatal condition. They rejected doctors' advice to have an abortion. Gabriel Santorum died two hours after being delivered prematurely at 20 weeks. "Specter knows and believes first-hand in the power of medicine to combat deadly diseases. No one is ahead of him in support of basic research and funding it in the Senate," says Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist. "Santorum has very strong, core beliefs on the sanctity of life. He will not change his vote; he will not change his mind." On Wednesday, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and other bill supporters said they would lobby fence-sitting senators to take action when they return after the July Fourth recess. Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who lobbied House members in May, plans to weigh in behind the scenes with senators. "There's a real tension in the public's mind" over stem cell research, Republican pollster Whit Ayres says. "That tension is reflected in the minds of the two Pennsylvania senators." Specter says he and Santorum have discussed stem cells with each other only once, while meeting with Bush last year during one of the president's trips to Pennsylvania to help Specter win a fifth Senate term. "It was civil, collegial, factual," Specter says. He offered no other details. Neither will criticize the other. "We do have sharp differences," Specter says. He adds that they respect each other too much to strong-arm the other. "We don't go to pick at issues where we disagree," he says. Those include most social issues, including a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Santorum said he and Specter have "a great relationship" and are "close personally and professionally." He added, "I respect Sen. Specter and what he feels passionately about. That's what the legislative arena is all about." Helping each other politically Madonna says the pair have developed a "rock solid" relationship after a rough start in 1994 when Specter tried to recruit several moderate Republicans to oppose Santorum's first Senate bid. Specter later threw his support to the young congressman and helped Santorum win the Philadelphia suburbs to eke out a narrow victory over Democrat Harris Wofford. Santorum repaid the favor last year. Despite Specter's centrist views, Santorum defended him from a strong challenge from conservative Pat Toomey. "Without his help," Specter says, "I wouldn't have won the primary." Nor, arguably, would he have been able to fend off an attempt by conservative activists after the election to deny Specter the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee, despite his seniority. Santorum "took a lot of criticism from those on the right" for helping Specter in both cases, says Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, an abortion rights opponent who favors embryonic stem cell research. Now it's Specter's turn again. He has raised more than $500,000 this year for Santorum's 2006 re-election campaign. He says the younger senator's two-term seniority and rapid rise in the Senate leadership "means a lot to Pennsylvania." Santorum will be the Democrats' "main" Senate target next year, says Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Pennsylvania polls have shown Democratic state treasurer Robert Casey, his likely opponent, leading Santorum. Unlike Specter, Casey shares Santorum's opposition to expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Despite their split on stem cell research, Santorum and Specter agree on much. Specter, a supporter of abortion rights, sided with Santorum against late-term abortion. They have voted together on bills to halt Syrian support of terrorism and to increase funding in Pennsylvania for everything from job training to AIDS care. "They're not bosom buddies; they don't hang around together, but they've worked out this accommodation," Madonna says. "They continue to support each other come hell or high water." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn