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Homepage | Stem Cell Research

John McCain Takes Stricter Stance on Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Wired reports tha Senator John McCain has taken a stronger stance against embryonic stem cell research lately. Wired says McCain would even "criminalize a promising branch of stem cell research."
In his statement, McCain at first claimed to support ESC research. However, he said "clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress" -- a qualification that disturbed many scientists and bioethicists with its ambiguity.

McCain also took a harder line than the Bush administration with somatic cell nuclear transfer, better known as therapeutic cloning -- a cutting-edge process that could some day provide personalized embryonic stem cell therapies. Though currently legal, McCain would outlaw the technique.

The new stance is an abrupt reversal for the Arizona senator. As recently as 2007, McCain appeared to favor embryonic stem cell research more strongly than most of the Republican party, especially its most religiously conservative members. "I believe that we need to fund this," he said during a presidential candidates' debate in May 2007.

Since then, he's become steadily cagier in his support, courting Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, an ardent opponent of all ESC research, and avoiding discussion of ESCs in favor of alternative cell types. Those familiar with the debate interpreted McCain's latest platform, which framed his support in the language of research opponents, as a signal that President Bush's research-limiting policies may continue.
Wired notes that McCain would make it a "federal crime for researchers to use cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes." They quote a Harvard researcher who says he would be arrested for research he peforms today on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
"I am researching SCNT and so would be considered a criminal if McCain gets his way," said the Harvard researcher Daley. "It's a sad society that starts criminalizing legitimate science."
The article says that is an unlikely such a ban on SCNT would pas Congress. You can read another article about McCain's stem cell positions and about criminalizing SCNT here. A ban on human cloning and the creation of human embryos is part of the GOP's health platform. With this platform it seems they would also be against IVF.

Posted on September 28, 2008
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Former Surgeon General Blasts Bush Administration

The IHT reports that former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona testified to a congressional panel that the Bush administration blocked him about speaking on certain subjects such as birth control and stem cells.Carmona said the Bush administration even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics. He also said they delayed and tried to weaken a report on secondhand smoke.
The administration, Carmona said Tuesday, would not allow him to speak or issue reports on the subjects of stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education or prison, mental or global health issues. Top officials tried to "water down" a landmark report on secondhand smoke and delayed it for years, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke can cause immediate harm.

Carmona said he was ordered to mention President George W. Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.

Administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because, he said, of that charitable organization's longtime ties to a "prominent family" that he declined to name. "I was specifically told by a senior person, 'Why would you want to help those people?' " Carmona said.

The Special Olympics is one of the nation's premier charitable organizations to benefit disabled people, and the Kennedy family has long been deeply involved in it. When asked after the hearing whether that "prominent family" was the Kennedys, Carmona responded, "You said it. I didn't."
It is horrible to learn that the Bush administration has been putting ideaology and big business ahead of public safety. This is just not acceptable. The public deserves to know everything our Surgeon General wants to report. Information should not be stifled over politics.

Posted on July 11, 2007
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Bush Vetoes Promising Stem Cell Bill

President George Bush used his very first veto since taking office six years ago to veto a very important stem cell bill that could have opened up federal funding for stem cell research. Many politicians against embryonic stem cell research are unable to explain why they are not also against in-vitro fertilization. Both embryonic stem cell research and in-vitro fertilization require the destruction of embryos. The Media Cynic reports that most people are in favor of embryonic stem cell research.
Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans want federal funding for stem cell research and they want it now, not later. But President Bush appears determined to make sure that America falls behind the rest of the world in scientific advances. Japan, for one, is already way ahead of us on this issue which could potentially provide a cure for diabetes, some cancers, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
The Media Cynic also provided a link to a good Chicago Tribune article that debunks the idea that adult stem cells are as good as embryonic stem cells. The Embryonic Stem Cell Research Lab at UW Madison says embryonic stem cells have the potential to treat or cure diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, spinal cord injuries and burns. A faq on their site also says the research will also be useful discovering new drugs.

Posted on July 24, 2006
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Frist Supports Federal Funds for Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The Media Cynic reports that Senator Bill Frist has decided to change his position on stem cell research and now plans to support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Frist's position is now against President Bush's controversial and highly restrictive policy. President Bush has already threatened to veto a new stem cell bill which passed in the House that promises federal funding of stem cell research. So, it is a promising development that the Senate might pass a bill that allows federal dollars to be put towards this promising research and allows more embryonic stem cell lines to be used. Unfortunately, President Bush could veto the bill -- as he has already threatened to do. This news report contains the full text of Frist's statement.

Posted on July 30, 2005
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