072101 Sixty-one Senators Call for Stem Cell Research
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
WASHINGTON, July 20 — A bipartisan group of 61 senators sent letters
to President Bush today that urged him to permit the use of federal
dollars for embryonic stem cell research.
One letter, begun by Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts,
was signed by 59 senators who want to see a ban on such research
lifted. A second letter, signed by 13 Republicans, was put together
by Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, who is a
forceful supporter of embryonic stem cell research. Some lawmakers
signed both letters.
Of the two letters, Mr. Specter's stakes out the more contentious
position. In it the senators urge Mr. Bush not only to permit
federally financed scientists to work on cells extracted from human
embryos but also to support legislation that would allow scientists
to experiment directly on the embryos.
A Congressional ban on embryo research prohibits both types of
experiments. But last year the Clinton administration found a way
around that ban and issued rules allowing research on stem cells
that are now growing in self-perpetuating colonies, having already
been extracted from embryos.
Mr. Specter said he believed that at least 75 senators supported
federal financing for research, though he did not say whether that
included support for his proposal to lift the ban on direct
experimentation on live embryos.
The letters come at a time when Mr. Bush, who opposes abortion, is
deciding whether to continue, reject or revise the Clinton
administration's rules. Advocates argue that embryonic stem cell
research can help cure an array of diseases, including Parkinson's.
But abortion opponents say the research destroys embryos and,
therefore, violates human life.
While the issue of stem cell research is not before Congress now,
several lawmakers have indicated they would push for a bill on the
issue if Mr. Bush decided to oppose the financing. The large number
of senators adding their names to the letters indicates that there
are enough lawmakers to overcome either a filibuster or a veto of
such a bill.
At a news conference today, Mr. Specter said that support on Capitol
Hill was quickly mushrooming. "There is more than a groundswell
here," he said.
Senators John W. Warner of Virginia, Ted Stevens of Alaska, Ben
Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
were among the Republicans who signed the Specter letter.
Adding his voice to the chorus, another Republican, Senator Robert
F. Bennett of Utah, said today that he would support federal
financing under strict guidelines. Mr. Bennett said he waited to
make his decision until he learned more about in vitro
fertilization, the procedure used to create the embryos that are now
at the center of the scientific and moral debate.
Mr. Bennett's daughter, he said, had undergone the fertility
procedure to get pregnant.
"From her experience, I have learned that all embryos are not
created equal; some are healthy enough to have a chance of survival
and some are not," Mr. Bennett said in a statement. "Our daughter's
doctors were able to determine, in advance of implantation, which
embryos were healthy enough to survive. Those that were not were
discarded."
"She believes, as I do, that it would be wonderful if these
nonviable embryos could be used to give hope to others suffering
from life-threatening diseases rather than cast aside as useless,"
he said.
In the Kerry letter to Mr. Bush, which was written on Thursday, the
59 senators underscored that point.
"We ought to realize their promise of life," the senators said of
the embryos, "rather than lose it altogether."
Senator Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee and a doctor who advises
Mr. Bush on health care issues, announced this week that he would
support lifting the ban, but with restrictions. Mr. Bennett said he
endorsed that same position.
Mr. Bush, speaking at a news conference in London on Thursday, said
politics would play no role in his decision. And he will not rush
his decision on the sensitive matter, he added.
"It doesn't matter who's on what side, as far as I'm concerned," Mr.
Bush said.
"This is way beyond politics," Mr. Bush added. "This is an issue
that speaks to morality and science and the juxtaposition of the
both. And the American people deserve a president who will listen to
people and make a serious, thoughtful judgment on this complex
issue, and that's exactly how I'm going to handle it."
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