Political Quotes

“I would say that all of the big names in medical research in America support this bill. They understand this is the real deal. This is the bill that will make a difference. The other two may not. Among the other groups supporting the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act are the Republican Main Street Partnership, the B'nai B'rith International, and a long list of people representing religious organizations from almost every denomination in America. Why do we need this? We need it because President Bush decided in 2001 to take a position on medical research. I do not think there is a precedent in American history for what he did. He basically said we were going to cut off Federal funding for those who were involved in embryonic stem cell research, except for a limited number of lines. He identified 78 stem cell lines on the day of his speech and said that scientists who received any Federal funding at all could work only on those stem cell lines. As Senator Harkin has pointed out over and over, not only were the 78 lines reduced to 22, they are all contaminated. They cannot be used for this research anymore. So President Bush is not offering any hope when it comes to this area of research. I do not want to get into the moral argument here because it is almost religious. It is moral and theological here.…”