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To: Timetobuy who wrote (39782)	8/4/2001 7:13:29 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Bush to Decide Stem-Cell Issue by Early September Reuters Aug 4 2001 4:43PM BETHESDA, Md. (Reuters) - President Bush said on Saturday he would make up his mind on the divisive issue of whether to allow federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research before Congress returns to work next month. "There'll be a decision before Congress comes back," he told reporters as he left the National Naval Medical Center after his first presidential physical exam and headed to his ranch in Texas for a month-long vacation. The Senate and the House of Representatives also are on a long summer break, returning the first week in September. Bush faces a politically difficult decision on whether to allow federal funds for the research, which could open new avenues to treating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Stem cells, which are typically obtained from human embryos discarded during fertility treatments, are master cells that can transform themselves into other types of cells in the body. The cells, which can also be found in adult tissue, offer the potential for regenerating damaged organs or tissue. The Clinton administration approved guidelines that would have cleared the way for federal funding, but in February Bush ordered a review of that policy and in April his administration canceled the first meeting of a panel at the National Institutes of Health that would have considered research proposals for federal grants to study embryonic stem cells. Opponents, notably the Catholic Church, some abortion foes and several powerful anti-abortion members of Congress, have warned any research that destroys human embryos will not get their approval. The political stakes are high for Bush as he weighs his options in the privacy of his secluded 1,600-acre (650-hectare ranch near Crawford over the next few weeks. BUSH STILL DELIBERATING Pope John Paul has cautioned him against the creation and destruction of embryos for such research, but patient and medical groups strongly support stem-cell research. The Pope's admonition raised the stakes even higher for Bush, who has been courting Catholic voters, a potent force in U.S. elections. Allowing the funding could alienate many of the more than 40 million Catholics in the United States. If he blocks or restricts funding, Bush risks angering political moderates and millions of disease sufferers who might benefit from the research. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Friday Bush had not yet made up his mind and that he would "think about it" while he was at his ranch in central Texas. "He is still deliberating. He has not made a decision," Fleischer told reporters. "He's continuing to think about it. ... He continues to listen to various sides of the issue, and then you'll see him stop, ponder, think and then announce." Bush has been meeting with scientists, ethicists and others on both sides of the issue at the White House over the past several weeks and he says the stem-cell question is not a political decision for him but rather a moral and ethical one. After meeting the Pope last month, Bush said he and his administration were taking an "unusually deliberative" approach over whether to fund the research and that he would take his time. Fleischer said when the decision was announced, Bush would share information about who he had talked to, what arguments influenced him and why he came to that determination.