Posted by Ellen on July 07, 2001 at 14:04:06:
Top World News
07/07 12:28
Hastert Taking Wait-and-See Approach to Stem-Cell Research
By Kim Dixon
Washington, July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert said he's not ready to join other House Republican leaders in their efforts to convince President George W. Bush to oppose federal funding for stem-cell research.
``There are a lot of issues out there -- diabetes and Alzheimer's'' that may benefit from the research, the Illinois Republican said on Cable News Network's Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields program.
``I'm not going to sign a letter,'' Hastert said, referring to a letter sent by Republicans including House Majority Leader Dick Armey to Bush this week, urging him to oppose the federal funding.
At issue is funding for research on cells derived from human embryos, which scientists believe may yield discoveries for treatments for chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Abortion foes, a key Bush constituency, are pushing the president to reverse a Clinton-era regulation opening the door for such funding.
The issue has transcended traditional abortion politics, as several pro-life Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, have supported the funding.
A possible compromise proposed by Karl Rove, an aide to Bush, would allow funding for research projects that use only existing supplies of stem cells, senior White House advisers said.
The proposal, one of several under consideration, is an attempt to sidestep the controversy over whether the government should support experiments on all embryonic or fetal tissue.
Current National Institutes of Health policy, which is on hold until Bush makes a decision, allows cells to be taken from extra embryos that are created during in vitro fertilization procedures, and which would otherwise be discarded.
``I just need to see what the Thompson plan, or the Bush plan, is before I go out and sign any letters,'' Hastert said.