Bush Backs Limited Stem-Cell FundingPresident Bush announced approval Thursday night for federal funding for limited medical research on stem cells extracted from human embryos. In the first prime-time speech of his presidency, Bush said the issue was "one of the most profound of our time," adding he had come down in favor of funding because of the potential for new cures for chronic diseases.Bush, seeking a middle ground on the issue, said he would limit federal funding for existing lines of embryonic stem cells. That would restrict the research to embryos that have already been destroyed. Quote from Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. ''To support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is to come down on the side of hope for the millions of Americans suffering from diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to cancer to Parkinson's to diabetes.'' But Bush, an opponent of abortion, said he would permit federal funding only for embryonic stem cells that are already in existence. He said it was "important that we pay attention to the moral concerns of the new frontier." Bush made his speech from a house on his Texas ranch, far from the White House, where opponents of stem cell research marched earlier in the day. The decision was sure to fuel an emotional debate, and exposed Bush to sharp criticism from conservatives unalterably opposed to any type of embryonic stem cell research. |
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