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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (247274)	4/12/2002 2:27:14 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769670

Bush Calls on Senate to Ban Human Cloning WASHINGTON — President Bush called on the Senate Wednesday to ban the cloning of human beings, a process that some say could be used in research and treatment of diseases. "Life is creation, not a commodity," Bush said in a speech to 175 doctors, scientists, lawmakers, religious activists and disabled people. "Advances in new biotechnology must never come at the expense of human conscience," he said. "As we seek what is possible, we must always ask what is right, and we must not forget that even the most noble ends do not justify any means." Many in the Senate oppose using cloning to create human beings, but support using the process to create embryonic stem cells that may be used for research and the potential treatment of many diseases. The bill Bush favors bans all human cloning, including cloning human embryos for research. "It would be a mistake for the U.S. Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber," Bush said. The issue is timely because of recent cloning advances, including last November's cloning of a human embryo by Massachusetts company Advanced Cell Technology. The company wants to extract stem cells from cloned embryos that could be used to grow healthy organs for patients. Lawmakers are also considering passing either the total ban the president wants or establishing some guidelines that would essentially allow cloning for stem cell research. Lawmakers hope to act this spring. Since neither side is pushing to allow cloning for reproductive purposes, what is essentially at the bottom of the debate is the conflict over when life begins, with the president saying the embryo from which a stem cell is harvested is a human being. Critics of an all-out ban, like Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, think otherwise and say that unfair restrictions on stem cell research condemn millions of people who are suffering from debilitating diseases. "We actually hold out the possibility of curing Parkinson's, curing diabetes, curing Alzheimer's disease, curing cancer," Daschle said Monday. "But whether or not we do depends on whether or not we will have the research and ability to provide scientists the opportunity to find those cures soon. We can do that and we can ban human cloning. The president wants to ban it all and I think he's wrong and I think the American people are on our side on this issue." Bush aimed to counter a call from 40 Nobel prize-winning scientists, including some of the country's leading cancer and genetic researchers, for the Senate to support a measure sponsored by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would allow "therapeutic cloning." The scientists say the total ban that Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas is proposing, would have "a chilling effect an all scientific research in the U.S." The president, of course, had his own scientists who feel differently. And perhaps to address the public relations side, he had several disabled people who say they'd like a cure for their paralysis, but only if it results from biomedical research conducted according to the highest ethical standards. The public overwhelmingly opposes scientific experimentation on the cloning of human beings, according to a new poll that also suggests public opinion is mixed on stem cell research. Nearly four out of five people opposed cloning, while one-third of those polled were against federal funding of stem cell research, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The poll of 2,002 adults was taken Feb. 25-March 10 and had an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The Associated Press contributed to this report. foxnews.com

To: calgal who wrote (247274)	4/12/2002 6:54:39 AM
From: JDN	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Dear Westi: I saw a lady from one of the human rights groups on MSNBC T/v last night COMPLETE WITH PICTURES and what I saw I found to be very disturbing. This woman was NOT an Arab. She related stories like the following: 1. People being shot in the street and Israelis refusing to allow ambulances in to care for them as they slowly bled to death. Same true of bodies rotting. 2. Men being arrested and forced to strip then thrown out in the street and forced to walk miles IN THEIR UNDERWEAR (part of humiliation) 3. Homes being wantonly destroyed either to make room for clearance of military vehicles (narrow streets) or suspected of hiding arms (but no proof). There was MUCH more but the point is IMHO the Israelis are every bit as guilty of committing terrorist acts against Palistinians as are the few Palistinians guilty also. If the USA did anything like this the world would go beserk. Frankly, after watching that show, I cannot blame Palistinians for hating the Jews and I cannot see how this is going to go down well for Israel in the long run. For now they have kept most photographers away from these terrorist acts but sooner or later word is going to get out and I wonder what happens THEN. JDN