Wall Street Journal - July 27, 2004
Bernard Wysocki Jr., Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

A high point will be a speech by Ron Reagan, son of the late President Reagan. The younger Mr. Reagan's presence at a Democratic convention is seen as a coup by the party. Mr. Reagan is expected to repeat recent remarks calling for the government to launch an "Apollo style" program to investigate embryonic stem-cell research for its potential to "revolutionize medicine."

Many Democrats say the stem-cell issue will have lasting value throughout the campaign to take the White House from President Bush. They say polls show widespread voter appeal, with roughly 70% approval for expansion of funds to conduct stem-cell research, including significant support among swing voters and large segments of Republicans. The party's likely presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.), and his running mate, John Edwards (D., N.C.), also have concluded that stem-cell research is one of many issues they can use to draw a sharp distinction between themselves and the Bush administration.

"We need to push the curve of discovery," Mr. Kerry said while meeting with workers at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. "We need a president who believes in science and who's prepared to invest America's efforts to cure Parkinson's and AIDS and diabetes and Alzheimer's, and do stem-cell research."

It is unclear whether Sen. Kerry will mention the issue specifically during his acceptance speech Thursday in Boston. One Kerry supporter who will speak out is Rep. Diana L. DeGette (D., Colo.) In remarks to be delivered before Mr. Reagan's speech, she will argue that the stem-cell issue illustrates how the Bush administration has "politicized science."

Embryonic stem cells are special cells that can develop into every type of cell in the human body. The stem cells are extracted from frozen embryos in fertility clinics, donated by couples who no longer want or need the embryo.

While Mr. Bush approved limited use of such stem cells, taken from human embryos, for research in August 2001, the White House has resisted pressure to expand their use, which is opposed by many religious conservatives, who consider the embryo a developing human life. Sen. Kerry's campaign platform includes a promise to reverse the Bush administration's limits on funding, and he has begun including references to stem-cell research in public remarks.

Over the past few months, advocates of expanded stem-cell use have tried to pressure the White House to relax its stance on research, especially since many of the original cell lines opened to scientists proved to be useless. The issue returned to the limelight last month with the death of former President Reagan from complications coming from Alzheimer's disease. His widow, Nancy Reagan, has publicly supported an expanded use of stem cells, which might someday help treat diseases such as Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes and perhaps even Alzheimer's. Meanwhile, 58 senators, including leading Republicans, signed a letter supporting expanded use. A similar letter was signed by more than 200 members of the House of Representatives.

After Mr. Reagan's death, the Bush administration made some effort to counter the criticism, noting that Mr. Bush was the first president to allow federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and by casting doubt on the chance for cures.

In a letter to members of Congress in mid-July, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, emphasized progress in stem-cell research, saying the National Institutes of Health would open a national stem-cell bank and fund several centers to develop treatments.

Some conservative groups say the White House should be more forceful in pushing research use of another kind of stem cell found in various tissues of humans, called adult stem cells. Some antiabortion groups don't oppose their use in research.

"The president ought to go out there and meet some of these survivors and talk about the positive side of stem-cell research, the over 40 diseases that have been positively treated" using adult stem cells, says Connie Mackey, vice president of the Family Research Council.

Some groups say it's a mistake to politicize the issue. Public backing for stem-cell research is neither a Republican nor Democratic issue and, as such, should not be turned into a political football during the 2004 elections, according to Civil Society Institute, a nonpartisan advocacy group in Newton, Mass.

Write to Bernard Wysocki Jr. at bernie.wysocki@wsj.com
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