081101POLL BOLSTERS BUSH'S STEM-CELL DECISION 

                  By DEBORAH ORIN 

                  August 11, 2001 -- WASHINGTON - Americans back President 
                  Bush's decision to OK limited stem-cell research by a decisive 
                  2-1 ratio, according to the first poll yesterday after his 
                  nationally televised speech. 
                  Bush was supported by 50 percent of those surveyed, while 25 
                  percent opposed his move and another 25 percent were unsure, 
                  the Gallup Poll for CNN and USA Today found. 
                  The president sought a middle ground by backing federal funds 
                  for research on existing stem cells derived from 5-day-old 
                  embryos - but he barred creating new embryos or destroying 
                  others for research. 
                  Those with more education were more likely to approve the 
                  decision: 56 percent of those who've been to college, but only 
                  43 percent of those who haven't. 
                  Men were also slightly more in favor, 53 percent compared to 
                  47 percent of women in the survey of 581 adults, which was 
                  conducted Thursday night after Bush's 11-minute address from 
                  his ranch in Texas. The poll has an error margin of plus or 
                  minus 4 percentage points. 
                  Scientists say stem cells can be made to develop into more 
                  than 200 kinds of cells and could someday serve as a human 
                  repair kit to treat diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and 
                  Parkinson's and heal devastating injuries. 
                  Bush yesterday told ABC News that he "absolutely" believes he 
                  stuck to his campaign promise that he wouldn't support 
                  anything "that involves destroying human embryos." 
                  "I think life begins at conception, and that influenced my 
                  decision, of course," added the president, although the head 
                  of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops termed his decision 
                  "morally unacceptable." 
                  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), often Bush's toughest 
                  critic, refrained from attacking the president, saying, "I 
                  welcome the president's decision and respect his deliberative 
                  thought process. 
                  "I look forward to a thoughtful and nonpartisan exploration of 
                  these very difficult issues in the months ahead," Clinton 
                  added. 
                  Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was more critical and said: "I 
                  thought [Bush] tried to reach a compromise, but to a family 
                  whose kid has Parkinson's or diabetes or chronic heart disease 
                  it's not very satisfactory." 
                  There is likely to be a push in Congress next fall for broader 
                  federal funding - Schumer said he'll back it, while Clinton 
                  didn't indicate what she will do - but there appears to be no 
                  chance it would get the two-thirds vote needed to override a 
                  Bush veto. 
                  Meanwhile, some researchers questioned if there really are 60 
                  existing stem-cell lines - each from a single embryo - as Bush 
                  claimed. 

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