September 10, 2007
The 800-Pound Stem Cell?
When it comes to the presidential campaign, could embryonic-stem-cell research be the 800-pound gorilla in the room? That’s the worry of some observers, like C.D. Mote Jr., president of the University of Maryland at College Park. In an article published today in The Chronicle, Mr. Mote says he is concerned that the issue is so divisive that it risks polarizing the larger, and considerably more bipartisan, discussion about supporting American research and cultivating American innovation. “We have to be careful not to push people into corners,” warns Mr. Mote, who helped author a recent National Academies report on global competitiveness.
There are no signs of pushing or shoving yet, but the Republican candidates – as opposed to their Democratic counterparts, who appear to be pretty uniform in their support for lifting the limits on federal spending on embryonic-stem-cell research imposed by President Bush – are staking out somewhat differing positions on this issue.
In this YouTube clip from a debate held earlier this year, the candidates offered more-nuanced positions. For example, Mitt Romney, who vetoed legislation to expand embryonic-stem-cell research as governor of Massachusetts, said federal funds should go to research using altered nuclear transfer. U.S. Senator John McCain said he supported using federal money for human embryonic-stem-cell research, while the former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said he backed such research as long as the embryos were not created specifically for it. Fast-forward to the clip’s two-minute mark for more of the candidates’ positions.
One contender, however, is missing — Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee, had not yet declared his candidacy when the clip was recorded. In a video recorded for the National Right to Life Committee, Mr. Thompson said research should be conducted on adult, not embryonic, stem cells.
Karin Fischer | Posted on Monday September 10, 2007 | Permalink
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