Administration officials criticize Bush stem cell policy
- Apr 15, 2005 -
Some officials in President Bush’s administration criticized his opposition to federal funding of destructive embryonic stem cell research during a recent congressional hearing.
Various directors at the National Institutes of Health expressed before a Senate committee their frustration with the Bush policy, which bars federal funds for stem cell research that results in the destruction of human embryos. The rule permits funding for such research only on stem cell lines already in existence prior to Aug. 9, 2001, when the President announced the policy.
The directors’ testimony warned researchers might move to countries where there are more lenient rules and abundant funding, The Washington Post reported.
“Progress has been delayed by the limited number of cell lines,” said Elizabeth Nabel, new director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, in written testimony, according to The Post. “The NIH has ceded leadership in this field.”
Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, cited “cumbersome procedures and long waiting times” for legal stem cells, which frequently are inferior and expire when thawed, The Post reported.
The negative testimony regarding Bush’s policy came April 6, about two weeks after it was revealed the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives has promised a vote on legislation designed to liberalize the rule.
Rep. Michael Castle, R.-Del., is sponsoring the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, H.R. 810, while Specter is the sponsor of the Senate version, S. 471. The House has 193 cosponsors, signaling it could pass. If the House and Senate agree on the same measure, Bush would have to veto it to prevent it from becoming law.
The ERLC and other pro-life organizations oppose embryonic stem cell research because it requires the death of embryos.
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