Expansionary Institute

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

By SANDRA SOBIERAJ
.c The Associated Press

 
WASHINGTON (AP) - A spokesman for President-elect Bush refused on Thursday to address whether the new Republican administration would shut down budding government research on the stem cells of discarded human embryos.

Press secretary Ari Fleischer, quoting his boss' statements during the campaign, said Bush ``would oppose federally funded research for experimentation on embryonic stem cells that require live human embryos to be discarded or destroyed.''

But Fleischer, questioned by reporters, would not say whether Bush intends to block the National Institutes of Health, which is now accepting grant applications for research on embryonic stem cells harvested by private researchers.

``I think (Bush's) statement speaks for itself. And I'm not going to go beyond that,'' Fleischer said.

Another Bush spokesman, Scott McClelland, later added: ``The president-elect's position is clear. He opposes federal funds for research that involves destroying living human embryos. ... As we have previously indicated, we intend to review all rules and executive orders implemented by the Clinton administration.''

The future of embryonic stem cell research, which scientists believe can lead to miracle treatments for Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, is expected to be a central question in the Senate confirmation hearings of Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Bush's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH.

Thompson recently dodged the question, telling reporters only: ``I am a pro-life governor.''

Dr. John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University said things do not look good for his field. ``Whether it's Mr. Bush or Mr. Thompson, with the conservative bent on this, one has reason to be concerned,'' Gearhart said.

Anti-abortion activists say such research is immoral because the extraction of stem cells from an embryo kills it. They and Bush support research on cells from adult tissue which, as McClelland said, ``would not necessitate killing a live human embryo.''


Federal law prohibits the use of government funds to derive embryonic stem or ``master'' cells. The new NIH guidelines allow private researchers to extract - and then pass along to federally funded scientists - stem cells from surplus frozen embryos that are destined to be discarded by fertility clinics.

AP-NY-01-05-01 0100EST

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.