Laz
07-15-2006, 11:56 AM
Posted on Sat, Jul. 15, 2006
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/15043747.htm
Senate nears stem-cell faceoff
Election-year politics seems sure to color the debate on three bills.
By MATT STEARNS
The Star’s Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON | That sore spot in America where “science” always seems to be rubbing “morality” the wrong way will be exposed again Monday in the U.S. Senate.
Missouri isn’t the only battleground on stem-cell research these days: The Senate confronts President Bush on a key research funding issue, with a veto showdown looming.
Three bills will come up. The most significant — and controversial — would lift long-standing Bush administration limits on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research and increase the number of stem-cell lines available.
Scientists say H.R. 810 would increase the chances of finding lifesaving cures for diseases afflicting millions of Americans. Opponents say the government must stand firm against paying for the research, which they call morally indefensible.
And election-year politics loom over the entire debate, as Democrats see their best opportunity in years to win control of Congress.
“The president’s opponents want to try and embarrass him … they will use it as a political issue,” said Tom McClusky of the conservative Family Research Council.
The two other bills included in the debate would prevent embryos from being implanted solely to obtain more developed stem cells for research purposes — an unrealized concept known as “fetal farming” — and would encourage alternatives to using embryos in stem-cell research.
Critics say those two bills were included to provide cover for Republican senators who vote against lifting the ban.
“It’s fair to say the medical community would be happy if all three bills passed,” said Donn Rubin of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, a group leading the effort for the Missouri ballot initiative dealing with stem-cell research.
“The concern is that people will vote no on (H.R.) 810 and claim they’re supporting stem-cell research because they voted for the other two. Only 810 advances medical research.”
Most polls show about 70 percent of Americans support embryonic stem-cell research, buoyed by public appeals from celebrities like Michael J. Fox. The actor suffers from Parkinson’s disease, an affliction that researchers say embryonic stem cells show promise in treating.
But socially conservative Republicans — the party’s active and influential base — are adamantly opposed, likening embryonic stem-cell research to abortion because, they say, it too takes a potential life. Adult stem-cell research is not controversial.
The GOP has split on the issue, with many high-profile Republicans, such as former first lady Nancy Reagan and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, supporting embryonic stem-cell research.
In 2001, President Bush limited federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research to existing lines of stem cells, citing moral concerns.
The thrust of H.R. 810 would allow federal funding of stem-cell research using leftover embryos from fertility clinics that would otherwise be destroyed, increasing the number of stem-cell lines available for research.
Supporters say it’s important even though millions in private money already is funding embryonic stem-cell research.
“The private money can never measure up to the level of federally funded research that has been so successful over the decades in curing diseases,” Rubin said. “The National Institutes of Health and its funding is what drives the direction of medical research…Without this passing, our country will miss an opportunity to speed medical progress.”
The National Institutes of Health spends about $30 billion a year funding medical research. Since 2002, it has spent $94 million funding human embryonic stem-cell research and $371 million funding animal embryonic stem-cell research.
The bill’s opponents say no progress should come at the expense of human life, and they say that’s exactly what an embryo is.
“It’s one of the oldest human debates,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and leading opponent of embryonic stem-cell research. “Do you subject somebody that’s weaker to somebody that’s stronger’s desire and wants? It’s a very old human debate. And every time we’ve done it, we’ve regretted it, and this is the current incarnation of it.”
He derides embryonic stem-cell research as “not producing.”
Research proponents say it’s far too soon to make such an assertion.
“No new field in biomedical research results in cures overnight,” said William Neaves, president and CEO of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, which conducts both adult and embryonic stem-cell research.
Neaves noted that the first attempted therapeutic use of adult stem cells took place in 1956; only 24 years later was an infant’s life first saved by an adult stem-cell transplant.
Under the rules guiding the Senate debate, each bill must get 60 votes to pass. They cannot be amended.
Supporters of H.R. 810 are confident of getting the 60 votes needed to pass it.
That may not matter: President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, which would make it the first veto of his presidency. Several White House officials, including Karl Rove, reiterated the veto threat in recent days.
Supporters concede it would be tough to get the 67 votes needed to override in the Senate, and virtually impossible in the House, which passed the bill last year.
“Our strategy is to get this on the floor and rely upon the goodwill of the president to help millions and millions of people who all they have left is hope and a prayer,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters this week. “My concern is to have 60 senators to pass this, and then we’ll work on the 67. Once it passes the Senate, there will be an outcry from the American people to President Bush.”
Scoffed Brownback: “I haven’t seen this president swayed by public opinion on a lot of things where he’s made a decision.”
Whatever happens in Washington next week, it will not have an impact on the Missouri ballot initiative. The ballot question seeks to ensure that Missouri will not pass any law regulating stem-cell research that is more restrictive than federal law.
“The initiative in Missouri is designed to ensure that Missourians come out as well as other Americans,” Rubin said.
The national debate also will no doubt continue, regardless of next week’s outcome.
Even those opposed to H.R. 810 concede public opinion is on the other side.
“It’s definitely an uphill battle,” McClusky said. “We’re fighting the Michael J. Foxes, and we have no Michael J. Fox.”
Democrats see the issue as a winner in November. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee already has run ads attacking Republicans who support Bush’s funding limits.
“Especially in suburban districts, Republicans are not going to be able to defend their opposition to lifesaving research,” said committee spokesman Bill Burton. “We think this is going to be a critical issue.”
In Missouri, the ballot initiative has become an adjunct to the hard-fought Senate campaign between Republican Sen. Jim Talent — who opposes it — and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill, who supports it.
The Senate vote provides a bright line between the two.
Talent opposes H.R. 810 because, he said, “the bill … would use tax dollars to fund research that would destroy human life at the earliest stages.” He supports the other two bills.
McCaskill supports H.R. 810, as well as the other two bills. In an indication that Democrats see an advantage in the issue, McCaskill on Saturday gave the Democratic response to Bush’s national radio address.
Her topic? Stem-cell research.
HOW THEY STAND
H.R. 810: To ease the limits on federally-funded embryonic stem cell research.
Oppose: Kit Bond and Jim Talent, Missouri Republicans; Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, Kansas Republicans
S. 2754: To encourage alternatives to embryonic stem-cell research that do not destroy human embryos.
Support: Bond, Talent, Roberts
Undecided: Brownback
S. 3504: To ban implantation of an embryo for the purpose of aborting for research.
Support: Bond, Talent, Roberts, Brownback
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/15043747.htm
Senate nears stem-cell faceoff
Election-year politics seems sure to color the debate on three bills.
By MATT STEARNS
The Star’s Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON | That sore spot in America where “science” always seems to be rubbing “morality” the wrong way will be exposed again Monday in the U.S. Senate.
Missouri isn’t the only battleground on stem-cell research these days: The Senate confronts President Bush on a key research funding issue, with a veto showdown looming.
Three bills will come up. The most significant — and controversial — would lift long-standing Bush administration limits on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research and increase the number of stem-cell lines available.
Scientists say H.R. 810 would increase the chances of finding lifesaving cures for diseases afflicting millions of Americans. Opponents say the government must stand firm against paying for the research, which they call morally indefensible.
And election-year politics loom over the entire debate, as Democrats see their best opportunity in years to win control of Congress.
“The president’s opponents want to try and embarrass him … they will use it as a political issue,” said Tom McClusky of the conservative Family Research Council.
The two other bills included in the debate would prevent embryos from being implanted solely to obtain more developed stem cells for research purposes — an unrealized concept known as “fetal farming” — and would encourage alternatives to using embryos in stem-cell research.
Critics say those two bills were included to provide cover for Republican senators who vote against lifting the ban.
“It’s fair to say the medical community would be happy if all three bills passed,” said Donn Rubin of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, a group leading the effort for the Missouri ballot initiative dealing with stem-cell research.
“The concern is that people will vote no on (H.R.) 810 and claim they’re supporting stem-cell research because they voted for the other two. Only 810 advances medical research.”
Most polls show about 70 percent of Americans support embryonic stem-cell research, buoyed by public appeals from celebrities like Michael J. Fox. The actor suffers from Parkinson’s disease, an affliction that researchers say embryonic stem cells show promise in treating.
But socially conservative Republicans — the party’s active and influential base — are adamantly opposed, likening embryonic stem-cell research to abortion because, they say, it too takes a potential life. Adult stem-cell research is not controversial.
The GOP has split on the issue, with many high-profile Republicans, such as former first lady Nancy Reagan and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, supporting embryonic stem-cell research.
In 2001, President Bush limited federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research to existing lines of stem cells, citing moral concerns.
The thrust of H.R. 810 would allow federal funding of stem-cell research using leftover embryos from fertility clinics that would otherwise be destroyed, increasing the number of stem-cell lines available for research.
Supporters say it’s important even though millions in private money already is funding embryonic stem-cell research.
“The private money can never measure up to the level of federally funded research that has been so successful over the decades in curing diseases,” Rubin said. “The National Institutes of Health and its funding is what drives the direction of medical research…Without this passing, our country will miss an opportunity to speed medical progress.”
The National Institutes of Health spends about $30 billion a year funding medical research. Since 2002, it has spent $94 million funding human embryonic stem-cell research and $371 million funding animal embryonic stem-cell research.
The bill’s opponents say no progress should come at the expense of human life, and they say that’s exactly what an embryo is.
“It’s one of the oldest human debates,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and leading opponent of embryonic stem-cell research. “Do you subject somebody that’s weaker to somebody that’s stronger’s desire and wants? It’s a very old human debate. And every time we’ve done it, we’ve regretted it, and this is the current incarnation of it.”
He derides embryonic stem-cell research as “not producing.”
Research proponents say it’s far too soon to make such an assertion.
“No new field in biomedical research results in cures overnight,” said William Neaves, president and CEO of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, which conducts both adult and embryonic stem-cell research.
Neaves noted that the first attempted therapeutic use of adult stem cells took place in 1956; only 24 years later was an infant’s life first saved by an adult stem-cell transplant.
Under the rules guiding the Senate debate, each bill must get 60 votes to pass. They cannot be amended.
Supporters of H.R. 810 are confident of getting the 60 votes needed to pass it.
That may not matter: President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, which would make it the first veto of his presidency. Several White House officials, including Karl Rove, reiterated the veto threat in recent days.
Supporters concede it would be tough to get the 67 votes needed to override in the Senate, and virtually impossible in the House, which passed the bill last year.
“Our strategy is to get this on the floor and rely upon the goodwill of the president to help millions and millions of people who all they have left is hope and a prayer,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters this week. “My concern is to have 60 senators to pass this, and then we’ll work on the 67. Once it passes the Senate, there will be an outcry from the American people to President Bush.”
Scoffed Brownback: “I haven’t seen this president swayed by public opinion on a lot of things where he’s made a decision.”
Whatever happens in Washington next week, it will not have an impact on the Missouri ballot initiative. The ballot question seeks to ensure that Missouri will not pass any law regulating stem-cell research that is more restrictive than federal law.
“The initiative in Missouri is designed to ensure that Missourians come out as well as other Americans,” Rubin said.
The national debate also will no doubt continue, regardless of next week’s outcome.
Even those opposed to H.R. 810 concede public opinion is on the other side.
“It’s definitely an uphill battle,” McClusky said. “We’re fighting the Michael J. Foxes, and we have no Michael J. Fox.”
Democrats see the issue as a winner in November. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee already has run ads attacking Republicans who support Bush’s funding limits.
“Especially in suburban districts, Republicans are not going to be able to defend their opposition to lifesaving research,” said committee spokesman Bill Burton. “We think this is going to be a critical issue.”
In Missouri, the ballot initiative has become an adjunct to the hard-fought Senate campaign between Republican Sen. Jim Talent — who opposes it — and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill, who supports it.
The Senate vote provides a bright line between the two.
Talent opposes H.R. 810 because, he said, “the bill … would use tax dollars to fund research that would destroy human life at the earliest stages.” He supports the other two bills.
McCaskill supports H.R. 810, as well as the other two bills. In an indication that Democrats see an advantage in the issue, McCaskill on Saturday gave the Democratic response to Bush’s national radio address.
Her topic? Stem-cell research.
HOW THEY STAND
H.R. 810: To ease the limits on federally-funded embryonic stem cell research.
Oppose: Kit Bond and Jim Talent, Missouri Republicans; Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, Kansas Republicans
S. 2754: To encourage alternatives to embryonic stem-cell research that do not destroy human embryos.
Support: Bond, Talent, Roberts
Undecided: Brownback
S. 3504: To ban implantation of an embryo for the purpose of aborting for research.
Support: Bond, Talent, Roberts, Brownback