Changes Are Weighed on Stem Cells
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: April 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, April 6 - With some Republicans pressing to loosen President Bush's restrictions on federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, the director of the National Institutes of Health said Wednesday that there is "mounting evidence" that such a policy change would benefit science, and other top N.I.H. officials echoed his assessment.
Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the health institutes' director, said he was not advocating a policy change and acknowledged the research raised moral concerns. But in testimony to a panel of senators, he made clear that scientists believe the current rules, which limit federal financing to a certain number of colonies, or lines, of embryonic stem cells, are hindering scientific progress.
"From a scientific standpoint, there is no doubt that many scientists will tell you that there are questions they would like to be able to address, that more lines, such as the lines, for example, that harbor specific genetic defects, would be helpful to them," Dr. Zerhouni said in an interview after the hearing, adding, "There are areas of research that you could pursue."
His remarks, coupled with similar written testimony submitted by other top N.I.H. scientists, offered a pointed critique by top federal health officials of the policy Mr. Bush announced in August 2001. The issue of embryonic stem cell research is once again percolating on Capitol Hill; in the House, the Republican leadership has promised backers of the studies a vote later this spring....
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/07/politics/07stem.html
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