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Harkin: Bush is to stem cell what Wallace was to civil rights
By DAN GEARINO, Courier Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES --- Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Thursday that President George W. Bush's opposition to expanded federal support for stem cell research merely delays the inevitable ---- a point he made with an example from the civil-rights struggle.
Bush is "sort of our modern-day George Wallace, standing in the schoolhouse door," Harkin said in a conference call with reporters.
Wallace was the governor of Alabama who famously stood in the door of the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop two African American students from registering.
"The fact is, that the walls of segregation were going to come tumbling down, we were going to move ahead with integration, and no matter what George Wallace did, it was going to happen. And I think it's the same way with President Bush," Harkin said.
Harkin and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., are co-sponsoring a bill in the Senate that would expand the federal role in embryonic stem cell research. The House passed a version of the bill earlier this week, overcoming objections of Republican leaders and a veto threat from Bush.
Bush has said he doesn't want to destroy life in the name of medical progress.
The bill would allow federal money to be used for research using embryos left over from fertility treatments. Backers of the measure say it could lead to advances in treatment for diseases like Alzheimer's.
Bush has allowed research on a small number of stem-cell lines, but Harkin said the lines are not useful because they are contaminated with mouse cells.
"The president's approach is just a dead end. It just offers false hope to millions of people who need these kinds of cures," he said.
The sides in the stem cell issue are generally separated along the same lines as in the abortion debate, though there are some notable exceptions, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who opposes abortion, but supports the current bill.
In the House vote, Democrat Leonard Boswell and Republican Jim Leach voted for the bill and Republicans Steve King, Tom Latham and Jim Nussle voted against it.
"We can do far more medically with other types of research, without destroying human life," King said Thursday.
He said Harkin's comment about Wallace is a "bizarre comparison."
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has indicated he's leaning against the bill.
Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net
Bush is "sort of our modern-day George Wallace, standing in the schoolhouse door," Harkin said in a conference call with reporters.
Wallace was the governor of Alabama who famously stood in the door of the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop two African American students from registering.
"The fact is, that the walls of segregation were going to come tumbling down, we were going to move ahead with integration, and no matter what George Wallace did, it was going to happen. And I think it's the same way with President Bush," Harkin said.
Harkin and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., are co-sponsoring a bill in the Senate that would expand the federal role in embryonic stem cell research. The House passed a version of the bill earlier this week, overcoming objections of Republican leaders and a veto threat from Bush.
Bush has said he doesn't want to destroy life in the name of medical progress.
The bill would allow federal money to be used for research using embryos left over from fertility treatments. Backers of the measure say it could lead to advances in treatment for diseases like Alzheimer's.
Bush has allowed research on a small number of stem-cell lines, but Harkin said the lines are not useful because they are contaminated with mouse cells.
"The president's approach is just a dead end. It just offers false hope to millions of people who need these kinds of cures," he said.
The sides in the stem cell issue are generally separated along the same lines as in the abortion debate, though there are some notable exceptions, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who opposes abortion, but supports the current bill.
In the House vote, Democrat Leonard Boswell and Republican Jim Leach voted for the bill and Republicans Steve King, Tom Latham and Jim Nussle voted against it.
"We can do far more medically with other types of research, without destroying human life," King said Thursday.
He said Harkin's comment about Wallace is a "bizarre comparison."
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has indicated he's leaning against the bill.
Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net
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