Congress Takes Up Stem Cells, Faces Politics of Science and Morality Yet Again

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 — -- The federal funding of stem cell research has been a political hot potato for Republicans since the beginning of President Bush's time in office -- and once again Democrats are tossing that potato right back at the GOP.

In 2001 Bush decided to cut off federal funding for new embryonic stem cell research, angering scientists and stem cell proponents who argue the research has vast, untapped potential to help patients with cancer, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

But with Democrats in Congress now holding a razor-thin majority, and polls continuing to show a majority of Americans supportive of the research, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing a bill that would expand and encourage federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.

It's an issue, political observers say, that is particularly difficult for Republicans seeking office in 2008.

"They're in a quandary here," said Ornstein, a political scientist and research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

"There's no question that a significant majority of Americans favor embryonic stem cell research," he said, "but as with an issue like gun control, it's intensity of opinion that matters as much as numbers, and you've got some real intensity on the anti-stem cell side."

Seeking a political compromise, Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., have proposed a more conservative version of the bill that would encourage stem cell research on only those embryos that have lost the ability to develop into fetuses.

"They're looking for an alternative, desperately seeking something that will let some of their vulnerable members, especially their vulnerable pro-life members, be able to say that they're for stem cell research without having to be for embryonic stem cell research," said Ornstein.

While the compromise bill is being supported by GOP presidential candidates Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Ornstein predicts the Democratic majority bill supported by Reid will ultimately pass in the Senate.

However, the president has threatened to veto Reid's version of the bill, setting the stage for a vote on a veto override. The House of Representatives passed a bill in January that would expand federal funding of stem cell research, but the House isn't likely to pass a veto override.

"The Republicans are going to have to decide ultimately whether they want to vote against a veto override and then face what will be pretty vigorous criticism back home (during the '08 election campaign) for opposing stem cell research," said Ornstein.

The 2008 GOP Candidates on Stem Cell Research

Republican strategists say GOP candidates had a hard time politically during the 2006 congressional midterm elections in positioning their concern that the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research may be overhyped.

"Not one major breakthrough has occurred from those embryonic stem cells, versus seeing some real promise in other areas like from adult stem cell research," said Ed Goeas, president and CEO of the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling and strategy firm.

"But I think there's been a lot of Republicans that found it very difficult to articulate that position in the '06 campaign," he said.

"You certainly saw it in many of the Senate races who were saying, 'How do we articulate this position without looking like we are callous and don't care about the potential possibilities of helping other people that have these diseases?'" he said.

Republicans are divided on the issue.

Brownback, a social conservative running for the GOP nomination, plans to support the Coleman compromise legislation, but has pledged to vote against the Democratic legislation.

"The federal government should not use taxpayer dollars to fund unethical embryonic stem cell research," said John Rankin, spokesman for Brownback.

"Embryonic stem cell research is unethical and results in the destruction of young human lives and at this point is purely speculative," Rankin said, noting Brownback does support adult stem cell research.

McCain also plans on voting for the compromise bill.

"He does support increasing the funding for research programs that include adult stem cell research that do not involve the use of human embryos," said Matt David, spokesperson for McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

"He supports a policy that balances the moral concerns that are out there with those that oppose the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research," said David, noting McCain supports a bill that would make it a federal crime for researchers to use the cells or fetal tissue from a fetus that was solely created for research purposes.

Former Republican governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, who has been criticized for changing his position on social conservative issues such as abortion, agrees with Bush's position.

"Gov. Romney feels that the public should not be compelled to support embryo destructive research, especially when there are exciting and promising ethical alternatives available," said Kevin Madden, spokesperson for Romney's 2008 presidential campaign.

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, another '08 contender, backs federal funding of stem cell research.

Conservative Republicans who oppose abortion are not uniformly against federal funding.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has said that he doesn't see anything wrong with using cells that would otherwise be disposed of.

The Politics of Stem Cells

Public opinion polls consistently suggest a majority of Americans favor embryonic stem cell research.

The issue flared during the 2006 congressional midterm elections when Michael J. Fox, a Hollywood actor suffering from Parkinson's disease, made an impassioned ad for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who supported a statewide ballot initiative allowing the state to fund stem cell research.

Private companies and several states, including California, are actively pursuing embryonic stem cell research.

"I think the November elections were very significant on this issue in that over and over again the pro-stem cell candidate won," said Sean Tipton of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, which is the pro-embryonic stem cell research lobby in Washington, D.C.

"And I think that for particular Republicans who have opposed stem cell research who are facing re-election they are going to have a hard time navigating this one."

Last year, the House of Representatives and the Senate approved bills to lift the restriction on embryonic stem cell research, but President Bush vetoed the final version of the legislation.

The then Republican-led House failed to override the veto. The Senate didn't vote but was just short of the two-thirds vote needed to override.

The November elections gave funding backers more votes and the Senate may be close to having enough votes to override a veto but the House is still short -- it already voted on its version of the new bill, which it approved on a 253-174 vote in January.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan has also called on Bush to reverse course on his stem cell policy.

During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Ronald Reagan Jr. slammed Bush's position, saying patients like his father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease before he died, could benefit from stem cell research.