Frist Backs Stem Cell Research

GOP Senate Leader Breaks With Bush On Funding

(CBS/AP) 
A heart-lung transplant surgeon who opposes abortion, Frist said loosening Mr. Bush's strict limitations on stem cell research would lead to scientific advances and “bridge the moral and ethical differences” that have made the issue politically charged.

“While human embryonic stem cell research is still at a very early stage, the limitation put into place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases,” the Tennessee lawmaker said in his speech.

“Therefore, I believe the president's policy should be modified. We should expand federal funding ... and current guidelines governing stem cell research, carefully and thoughtfully, staying within ethical bounds,” he said.

Mr. Bush has threatened to veto legislation for expanded financial support for stem cell research. A bill to finance more stem cell research has passed the House, but has been stalled in the Senate. Frist's support could push it closer to passage and set up a confrontation with Mr. Bush.

Frist's announcement will put pressure on the White House, predicted Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a cancer patient and the bill's sponsor.

“I know that the president will listen to what Sen. Frist has had to say,” Specter said. “I'm not saying he is going to agree with it but ... I think may bring us all together on this issue.”

It also could impact Frist's own political future. A likely presidential candidate in 2008, Frist has been courting religious conservatives who helped make Mr. Bush a twice-elected president and generally consider embryonic stem cell research a moral equivalent to abortion. But the announcement, coming just a month after Frist said he did not support expanded financing “at this juncture,” could help him with centrist voters.

With those political realities in mind, Frist argued that his positions on stem cell research and abortion were not inconsistent. He said the decision was about policy, not politics.

Frist's decision brought quick praise from leading Democrats.

“It is a decision that will bring hope to millions of Americans,” said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “I know there's still a long ways to go with the legislation, but a large step has been taken by the majority leader today ... and I admire the majority leader for doing it.”

Said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.: “As a physician, Sen. Frist has a moral calling to save lives and alleviate suffering. He honors his Hippocratic Oath today by recognizing the unique healing power of embryonic stem cells.”