Aggregated News

Stem Cells Enter the Presidential Election; Doublespeak Follows

We continue to hope that stem cell research won't be used as a political football during this American election season. To date, this hope hasn't been baseless: Both presidential nominees have said they will undo President Bush's restrictions on federal funding. But in the last week, we've seen some discouraging signs. Hopefully these are not indications that the "stem cell wars" are about to flare up again.

Republicans Toughen on Embryonic Research. Will McCain Follow?

The Republican Party platform takes a much harder line against research that uses human embryos than did George Bush. It opposes embryo experimentation independent of the funding source, and could prohibit stem cell research that uses embryos created but not used for fertility purposes. And John McCain, though he's supported embryonic stem cell research in the past, has left himself enough wiggle room to move to the right.