Hi Chinmoy!
I'll take a hard look at all three charts and will post my thoughts later today. It will take a little longer to do a comparative analysis but I certainly don't mind doing it for you.
In the mean time I think that you will find this article on stem cell research encouraging;
July 21, 2001
61 Senators Call for Stem Cell Research
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
ASHINGTON, July 20 — A bipartisan group of 61 senators sent letters to President Bush today that urged him to permit the use of federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research.
One letter, begun by Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, was signed by 59 senators who want to see a ban on such research lifted. A second letter, signed by 13 Republicans, was put together by Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, who is a forceful supporter of embryonic stem cell research. Some lawmakers signed both letters.
Of the two letters, Mr. Specter's stakes out the more contentious position. In it the senators urge Mr. Bush not only to permit federally financed scientists to work on cells extracted from human embryos but also to support legislation that would allow scientists to experiment directly on the embryos.
A Congressional ban on embryo research prohibits both types of experiments. But last year the Clinton administration found a way around that ban and issued rules allowing research on stem cells that are now growing in self-perpetuating colonies, having already been extracted from embryos.
Mr. Specter said he believed that at least 75 senators supported federal financing for research, though he did not say whether that included support for his proposal to lift the ban on direct experimentation on live embryos.
The letters come at a time when Mr. Bush, who opposes abortion, is deciding whether to continue, reject or revise the Clinton administration's rules. Advocates argue that embryonic stem cell research can help cure an array of diseases, including Parkinson's. But abortion opponents say the research destroys embryos and, therefore, violates human life.
While the issue of stem cell research is not before Congress now, several lawmakers have indicated they would push for a bill on the issue if Mr. Bush decided to oppose the financing. The large number of senators adding their names to the letters indicates that there are enough lawmakers to overcome either a filibuster or a veto of such a bill.
At a news conference today, Mr. Specter said that support on Capitol Hill was quickly mushrooming. "There is more than a groundswell here," he said.
Senators John W. Warner of Virginia, Ted Stevens of Alaska, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas were among the Republicans who signed the Specter letter.
Adding his voice to the chorus, another Republican, Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah, said today that he would support federal financing under strict guidelines. Mr. Bennett said he waited to make his decision until he learned more about in vitro fertilization, the procedure used to create the embryos that are now at the center of the scientific and moral debate.
Mr. Bennett's daughter, he said, had undergone the fertility procedure to get pregnant.
"From her experience, I have learned that all embryos are not created equal; some are healthy enough to have a chance of survival and some are not," Mr. Bennett said in a statement. "Our daughter's doctors were able to determine, in advance of implantation, which embryos were healthy enough to survive. Those that were not were discarded."
"She believes, as I do, that it would be wonderful if these nonviable embryos could be used to give hope to others suffering from life-threatening diseases rather than cast aside as useless," he said.
In the Kerry letter to Mr. Bush, which was written on Thursday, the 59 senators underscored that point.
"We ought to realize their promise of life," the senators said of the embryos, "rather than lose it altogether."
Senator Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee and a doctor who advises Mr. Bush on health care issues, announced this week that he would support lifting the ban, but with restrictions. Mr. Bennett said he endorsed that same position.
Mr. Bush, speaking at a news conference in London on Thursday, said politics would play no role in his decision. And he will not rush his decision on the sensitive matter, he added.
"It doesn't matter who's on what side, as far as I'm concerned," Mr. Bush said.
"This is way beyond politics," Mr. Bush added. "This is an issue that speaks to morality and science and the juxtaposition of the both. And the American people deserve a president who will listen to people and make a serious, thoughtful judgment on this complex issue, and that's exactly how I'm going to handle it."
nytimes.com |
