Bush Pressured to Lift Stem Cell Ban

Written by Tom Strode

WASHINGTON (BP)--President Bush is standing firm, a spokesman says, as pressure continues for him to permit destructive research on human embryos.

In the wake of a letter signed by nearly half the members of the U.S. House of Representatives, a majority of the Senate has signed on to a request asking Bush to revise his order barring federal funds for embryonic stem cell research, The Boston Globe reported June 2. The letter has accumulated the signatures of 56 senators and is still being circulated before its release, according to The Globe. The signers include 13 Republican senators, among them Trent Lott of Mississippi, Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the newspaper reported.

A White House spokesman told The Globe the president has not changed his mind, saying Bush “continues to believe strongly that we should not cross a fundamental moral line of funding or encouraging the destruction of human embryos.”

In late April, 206 House members, including 36 Republicans, sent a letter to the president asking him to change his policy. The House has 435 members. Ten days later, Nancy Reagan made her latest public endorsement of embryonic stem cell research at a Hollywood fundraiser.

In response to the House letter, Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote May 14 to report that Bush still opposes government funds for such experimentation.

In August 2001, Bush issued an order barring federal grants for stem cell research which results in the destruction of embryos. The procurement of stem cells from an embryo only days old brings about the death of the tiny human being.

In his 2001 order, Bush permitted funding for research on the colonies of existing stem cells in which, as he put it, “the life-and-death decision has already been made." It turned out there were only about 20 such colonies, far fewer than expected.

Though the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other pro-life organizations oppose embryonic stem cell research, they support the non-harmful use of stem cells from such sources as placentas, umbilical cord blood, and adult bone marrow. The use of stem cells from those sources has already produced therapeutic results in some cases.

Stem cells are primitive cells from which cells and tissues in the human body develop. Their discovery in 1998 has provided hope for treating a variety of conditions, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and diabetes.

Share your thoughts with other readers:  Post Comments   Rate this Article