081001Each Side Finds Something to Like, and Not
By ROBIN TONER
Bush Backs Federal Funding for Some Stem Cell Research (August
10, 2001)
ASHINGTON, Aug. 9 — President Bush's proposal for carefully limited
federal research on embryonic stem cells was greeted with relief
tonight by many abortion opponents and other conservatives, who had
feared a much broader federal effort.
On the other side, patients' advocates and other supporters of the
research said they had many questions about the Bush decision but
were pleased that the president had embraced the basic concept and
importance of embryonic stem cells as a potential boon in the
treatment of many diseases.
Not everyone was satisfied with the compromise, which would allow
federal support for research on existing cell colonies, or lines,
but not for the creation of new ones, which requires the destruction
of human embryos.
"The federal government, for the first time in history, will support
research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human
beings for the possible benefit to others," said Bishop Joseph A.
Fiorenza, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"However such a decision is hedged about with qualifications, it
allows our nation's research enterprise to cultivate a disrespect
for human life."
Still, Laura Echevarria, a spokeswoman for the National Right to
Life Committee, the leading anti-abortion group, said tonight,
"We're delighted that President Bush's decision prevents the federal
government from becoming party to any further killing of human
embryos for further experimentation."
Abortion opponents had fiercely opposed an earlier Clinton
administration rule that would allow federal financing of embryonic
stem cell research so long as federal researchers were not involved
in obtaining the cells and thus destroying the embryos. Mr. Bush
tried to separate the federal government even further from that
process by confining research to already existing cell lines.
Medical researchers and advocates of stem cell research to attack
specific diseases cautiously embraced the president's decision, but
they questioned whether the existing cell lines are adequate in
number or sufficiently robust to serve the needs of American
scientists.
"We are very concerned whether this is sufficient to do the work
that needs to be done," said Peter Van Etten, president and chief
operating officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "The
limitations that he has put may limit our ability to do the work."
Doug Melton, the chairman of the department of cellular and
molecular biology at Harvard, said he was surprised by Mr. Bush's
assertion that 60 cell lines were already available for research.
Dr. Melton said he believed that the number was closer to 10, of
which "only one or two" are sufficiently robust to be helpful.
Lawrence A. Soler, chairman of the Coalition for the Advancement of
Medical Research in Washington, was also taken aback by the
president's assertions about existing cell lines.
"It's good news and a little bit of a question mark," Mr. Soler
said. "There's a lot more information that came up tonight that our
scientists didn't know about."
Whatever the number of stem cell lines available for research, the
U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops regards the entire concept as a
slippery slope.
"Sixty cell lines may be enough for a couple of years of basic
research, but this is supposed to be about treatment," said the
conference's spokesman, Richard M. Doerflinger. "Treatment may take
20 years and may require thousands of cell lines, and maybe many
thousands."
But Senator Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, heart surgeon and a
leader on health issues, said, "President Bush has done the nation a
great service by allowing promising embryonic stem cell research to
proceed while maintaining strong restrictions on the extent of the
research and ensuring comprehensive, public oversight."
And Carrie Gordon Earll, bioethics analyst at Focus on the Family,
another conservative group, said: "We were pleasantly surprised with
this. We had hoped for him of course to say, no funding, no
involvement, but we're not disappointed by this. It could have been
worse."
On Capitol Hill, advocates of a more aggressive research effort said
they were disappointed.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said the
president had taken a modest but inadequate step forward. The
president's decision "doesn't go far enough to fulfill the
life-saving potential of this promising new medical research," Mr.
Kennedy said.
Former Senator Connie Mack, a Florida Republican and a supporter of
the research, said he had mixed feelings. "On the one hand, I'm
pleased to see that there will be some federal involvement," he
said. "On the other hand, I'm concerned that the limitations of 60
lines could be too restrictive." Mr. Mack added: "If scientists tell
me that 60 lines is sufficient, then obviously I'm going to be
totally pleased. The verdict's still out on that."
A leading Republican advocate of federal financing of stem-cell
research, Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, praised the president for
his approach, his inquiries and his ultimate decision, which he said
would "alleviate" suffering.
The lobbying on the embryonic stem cell issue was extraordinary.
Conservative Christians and other abortion opponents pleaded with
Mr. Bush to live up to his campaign promises, which he repeated to
the Roman Catholic bishops just before Election Day, "Taxpayer funds
should not underwrite research that involves the destruction of live
human embryos."
While Mr. Bush's decision was a relief to some anti-abortion
activists, others were disappointed.
"He can no longer describe himself as pro-life," said Judie Brown,
president of the American Life League.
Still, there were religious groups on both sides of the issue.
Religious institutions that support the research because they say it
may save lives include the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian
Church (USA) and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Many
other major denominations have have taken no position, saying the
technology is so new they need to study it further. These groups
include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal
Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The nation's largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist
Convention, had lobbied the president hard to reject a compromise.
Dr. Richard D. Land, president of the convention's Ethics and
Religious Liberty Commission, said he was disappointed. "I would
have hoped that he would not have allowed any federal funding of
embryonic stem cell research," he said, "but the fact that he
stopped short of allowing federal funding that would underwrite the
destruction of any new embryos is a very important firebreak."