Editorial: Shouldn’t be a hard cell

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

President Bush is expected to sign his first veto this week and reject legislation that would allow federal funding of stem-cell research - an issue he has firmly opposed since 2001, and on which he has said he will not compromise.

Stem cells - the type drawn from human embryos - offer scientists some of the most promising methods of treatment for paralysis, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions in which cells that regenerate themselves have the potential to be used to grow new tissues or organs.

The House has passed a measure that would allow research on stem cells that have been marked for disposal by fertility clinics. The Senate on Monday began debating three stem-cell bills that are similar to the House measure, all of which are expected to pass.

Bush's policy, however, allows research only on stem-cell lines that were in existence on Aug. 9, 2001 - the date on which he announced his stance against such research. At the time, Bush said there were enough stem cells already, and there would be no need to harvest more. But now experts say it has become apparent that many of these cells are not suitable for research, so there are not sufficient numbers of them.

Still, the president remains steadfast in his ignorance - ignoring the overwhelming majority of Americans who support research using stem cells, the vast numbers of scientists who support the research, and even prominent Republicans who favor it, such as Senate Majority Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and former first lady Nancy Reagan.

From dragging their feet on the approval of the morning-after birth control pill, to refusing to acknowledge the United States' role in global warming to the lack of accurate data to support a high-level nuclear waste dump in Nevada, the Bush administration has routinely ignored the facts presented by scientists. That Bush refuses to federally fund research that scientists say could cure some of the world's most debilitating conditions is - sadly - not surprising.