Bush Would End Stem Cell Research Involving Human Embryos

Sun City, FL -- If elected president, pro-life Texas Gov. George W. Bush would end stem cell research involving human embryos, an aide to the Republican presidential nominee said Friday. The controversial practice was cleared last month for taxpayer funding by the National Institutes of Health. "It's something we would take steps to remedy," a Bush campaign health policy adviser said, on condition of anonymity, as the candidate suggested an increase in NIH funding by $67 billion over 10 years. The adviser said Bush's public stance against medical studies using tissue from unborn children would lead a Bush administration to cut off taxpayer funding for embryonic stem cell research, which the NIH approved in August by lifting a yearlong moratorium. Stem cells, formed in humans and animals at the beginning of life, have the ability to produce a variety of specialized cells in the body, such as muscle cells or nerve cells. Scientists believe they can cultivate stem cells to produce healthy tissues to augment or replace ailing organs. Pro-life organziations oppose stem cell research and have been promoting life-affirming alternatives that would advance scientific research but not at the expense of killing unborn children. "Gov. Bush as a pro-life candidate does not support things that would be the potential taking of a life, so that's why embryonic (research) is problematic for us," the adviser said.