In recent separate interviews with the Wall Street Journal, the presidential candidates have had sharply differing views on the issue of embryonic stem cell research. As reported in the May 30, 2000 issue, Vice President Al Gore would attempt to remove the pro-life ban on federal funding and allow federal researchers to use stem cells harvested by privately funded researchers. An aide to Texas Governor George W. Bush said that Gov. Bush sides with pro-life advocates who would uphold the ban on funding, noting that unborn children are destroyed to retrieve stem cells.

It should be noted that this issue is often mischaracterized in the press, giving the impression that stem cells are only obtainable from human embryos which must be killed in order to use them. Recent research shows that this is not so, and that stem cells can also be obtained from adults without any killing involved. For details, see the article, Why We Need Not Kill to Save Lives in the June 2000 issue of the NRL News.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, August 2000