Stem-Cell Opponents Make Emotional Appeal

W A S H I N G T O N, July 17, 2001 -- Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research today put a human face on their cause, in the hopes of countering emotional appeals made by supporters of the controversial studies.

Should the government fund biomedical research that scientists say holds the promise of lifesaving medical breakthroughs, but that critics say is immoral because it uses cells harvested from human embryos that are destroyed in the process?

As President Bush and Congress wrestle with that question, advocates on both sides are waging an emotionally charged tug-of-war over the answer.

Mark and Luke Borden, 9 1/2-month-old twins from Fontana, Calif. have become poster children for those lobbying against federal funding.

Their mother Lucinda gave birth to them after being implanted with frozen embryos she and her husband John adopted.

"Mark and Luke are living rebuttal to the claim that embryos are not people," Mrs. Borden told lawmakers on Capitol Hill today. "We plead with you not to fund their slaughter."

The hearing room then fell completely silent as Mr. Borden stood, cradling his two sons in his arms, and posed a rhetorical question to supporters of stem-cell research.

"Which one of my children would you kill?" he asked. "Which one would you choose to take?"

Emotional Arguments From Both Sides

The Bordens and others were invited to testify today by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., the chairman of a House Governmental Reform subcommittee, who is opposed to the research. Their appearance was part of an effort to counter what many opponents concede has been a largely successful effort by supporters to publicize the likely human toll of cutting off government funding.

Medical researchers say continued stem-cell studies could yield cures for debilitating diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who chairs a Government Affairs subcommittee and backs government funding, invited 200 children with juvenile diabetes to appear at a hearing last month.

Five-year-old Eliza Kiley from Tarentum, Pa. was one of them. Her mother, Michelle, who also suffers from diabetes, had tears in her eyes as she pleaded for federal funding.

"I have sacrificed 26 years of my life to this disease. Why does she have to sacrifice her life?" Mrs. Kiley asked. "Please promise to remember Eliza and all the children here today. Please help them fight for what they have earned — a cure for diabetes."

Bush Nears Decision

Bush is nearing a decision on whether to allow government funding and is said by administration officials to be genuinely "conflicted."

Arrayed against government funding are Catholic Church leaders and many conservative opponents of abortion rights. They argue life begins at conception — whether in a woman's womb or in a Petri dish.

"These littlest of human beings aren't potential life, but life with vast potential," Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said at today's hearing.

But a number of Republican lawmakers who are adamantly opposed to abortion, have come out in support of federal funding for stem-cell research, noting that thousands of embryos are routinely discarded by fertility clinics.

"We would be making a critical mistake if we were to shut off the avenue of research that scientists have found to me the most promising at this point," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told the House panel. "The support of embryonic stem-cell research is consistent with 'pro-life' and pro-family values."

Today's hearing was intended to draw attention to the practice of embryo adoption and to make the argument that continued embryonic stem-cell research would take a human toll as well.

Like the Bordens, Marlene and John Strege of Falbrook, Calif. adopted frozen embryos after trying unsuccessfully for years to have children on their own. Their daughter, Hannah, is 2 1/2 years old.

"Hannah is an ambassador for the roughly 188,000 frozen human embryos like her in frozen embryo orphanages, who could be adopted, rather than terminated with assistance from my federal tax dollars," Mrs. Strege said in her testimony this afternoon.

A Senate subcommittee is scheduled to hold another public hearing on stem-cell research on Wednesday. Scheduled to testify is William Gibbons, head of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Va., which added a new wrinkle to the debate when it announced last week that it has and will continue to create embryos specifically for the purpose of stem-cell research.

ABCNEWS' Ann Compton contributed to this report.