Federal funding restrictions fuel stem cell research debate

Leaders in scientific, political and business arenas all have a lot to say about the president's policies on stem cell research.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. Oct. 1, 2001.

Talk concerning embryonic stem cell research has hardly quieted since Aug. 9, when President George W. Bush announced that the federal government would fund such research but would restrict it to 64 existing stem cell lines.

Since that time, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report calling for fewer restrictions, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that perhaps only 24 or 25 of the existing stem cell lines were fully developed and presently suitable for research.

Though discussion continues, President Bush said the debate is over. "The statement I laid out is what I think is right for America today," the president told reporters in mid-August. "And any piece of legislation that undermines what I think is right will be vetoed."

Speaking before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in early September, Thompson sought to dispel criticism that the president's research guidelines were too restrictive and the supply of available stem cell lines insufficient.

"So far, the National Institutes of Health has identified 64 stem cell derivations that meet the president's eligibility criteria," Thompson said.

"The president never spoke about or drew any limits on these lines based on where they were in their development. Furthermore, we have consistently said that these lines are at various stages of development.

"But unfortunately, and I believe unfairly, some are choosing to engage in word games or hear only parts of the story," Thompson added. [...]