Stem Cell Research Advocates Concerned McCain Will Backtrack On Support If Elected President

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 23 Sep 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Some human embryonic stem cell research advocates recently have expressed growing concern that if elected, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) will backtrack on his current support for the research, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. According to the AP/Tribune, some advocates who will meet in Madison, Wis., this week for the 2008 World Stem Cell Summit said that recent developments -- including the Republican Party's adoption of a platform that opposes even private funding for research on surplus embryos; the nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who opposes stem cell research, as the party's vice presidential candidate; and a "less than clear" stance on McCain's stem cell research position in recent weeks -- have led them to question what McCain would do as president.

According to the AP/Tribune, both McCain and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) have voted to lift a ban imposed by President Bush on federal funding for research using new embryonic stem cell lines created from leftover embryos at fertility clinics that otherwise would be destroyed. The AP/Tribune reports that McCain's support "has helped make the research less of a hot-button issue this cycle than it was in 2004 and 2006, when Democrats argued President Bush's stance was cruel and anti-science." However, Jeff Sheehy, a spokesperson for the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California-San Francisco, said, "Three or four months ago, I felt fairly certain that we were through with the federal ban. Now I'm not so certain. I can't really tell where McCain stands, but we hope he keeps his commitments."

McCain spokesperson Sarah Lenti said that McCain still supports loosening federal restrictions on stem cell research and that "his position hasn't changed," but she declined to say specifically what McCain would do as president. Obama has said if elected he would ease the restrictions and double funding for NIH over 10 years.

Some of the concern among stem cell research advocates is arising from recent comments by McCain and Palin that breakthroughs in which scientists coaxed adult stem cells into having some of the qualities of embryonic stem cells could make embryonic stem cell research unnecessary, the AP/Tribune reports. Alta Charo, a University of Wisconsin bioethicist who will speak at the summit, said, "That response leaves open the question of what McCain would do on day one in office," adding, "What is John McCain's position today? I don't know."

Despite such comments, McCain is running radio advertisements that promise he and Palin would support "stem cell research to help free families from the fear and devastation of illness." Although the ad is technically accurate because Palin supports adult stem cell research, Charo said the claim is "very, very misleading." Charo added, "If McCain backs away from his prior support, it will not be popular with disease activist groups or people who have sick people in their families. On the other hand, if he doesn't say that, it will irritate the people who support him from the socially conservative part of the base." Tim Kamp, a UW-Madison researcher who is co-chairing the summit, said he still thinks the political climate for stem cell research is more favorable than in the past. "It doesn't seem to be quite as much of a wedge issue as it has been in some past elections," Kamp said, adding, "We're hopeful the situation may improve for allowing more cell lines to be studied."

According to the AP/Tribune, the summit -- which will be attended by hundreds of the country's top researchers, advocates, philanthropists and investors in stem cell research -- will discuss how the field might change if the next president loosens federal restrictions (Foley, AP/Chicago Tribune, 9/22).

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