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Bush to Announce Decision on Stem Cells Late Thursday
CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug 9 (News Agencies) - U.S. President George W. Bush will end months of speculation and announce whether he supports federal funding for embryonic stem cell research in a national address late Thursday, the White House said.
Bush reached his decision on Wednesday and will unveil it in an 8-10 minute televised speech from his nearby ranch at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Friday), spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
"The president has carefully considered all the scientific and ethical issues involved, and he wants to share his decision directly with the American people," said McClellan, who did not reveal what the decision would be.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can evolve into blood, liver, muscle and other cells. Researchers hope they can one day be used to repair damaged organs or cure diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes and Alzheimer's.
Some research has been done on stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow, but the controversial issue today involves stem cells obtained from early-stage human embryos, usually "excess embryos" obtained from in-vitro fertilization techniques at fertility clinics. Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into a much wider range of tissue types than adult stem cells.
But foes - including some who share Bush's opposition to abortion rights - say embryonic stem cell research is akin to murder because the process of obtaining the cells from the embryo requires its destruction, or retrieval of aborted fetuses.
"Stem cell research in many ways is the leading edge of the new frontier of science, and as we explore the science, we need to make sure that we do so in a way that adheres to the highest ethical standards," said McClellan.
The president was to make the announcement sitting in a chair in a room of the old ranch house on his property, in front of a window through which a field, a rusted metal fence and sometimes horses can been seen.
In months of wrestling with the issue, Bush has found it to be more complicated than he thought during the 2000 presidential campaign, when he firmly opposed any scientific research that results in the destruction of embryos, said McClellan.
"This is a decision that will have far-reaching implications for our nation 20, 30 years from now and beyond," he said, noting that Bush had consulted lawmakers; bio-ethicists; his Cabinet; abortion foes; scientists and people afflicted with ailments for which the research may one day find a cure.
During a visit to Italy last month, Pope John Paul II warned Bush against the "related evils" of euthanasia, abortion and the use of embryos in scientific processes.
Several lawmakers who oppose abortion have come out in favor of the research, as did "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, who sits paralyzed in a wheelchair after a spinal chord injury.
McClellan firmly rejected the notion that the president had at all been swayed by political considerations, saying, "That's not the way he approached this decision."
A small majority of Americans -55% - support federal funding for stem cell research using embryos due to be destroyed by fertility clinics, according to a USA Today CNN Gallup poll released Tuesday.
Support for the federal funding drops to 46% when the embryos are created for research purposes and dramatically drops to 28% for funding on embryos cloned from human cells.
A broad majority, some 68%, supports federal funding of research on stem cells taken from adults.
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