LA JUNTA, Colo. – Sen. John Kerry said Saturday the restriction on stem cell research imposed by President Bush was a triumph of ideology over science and “only adds to the loss and pain” of millions suffering from potentially curable diseases.
“At this very moment, some of the most pioneering cures and treatments are right at our fingertips, but because of the stem cell ban, they remain beyond our reach,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in his party’s weekly radio address.
Kerry, D-Mass., renewed a previous pledge to reverse Bush administration policies on stem cell research if he wins the race for the White House, and said he would increase funding for research by federal agencies.
“We’re going to listen to our scientists and stand up for science. We’re going to say yes to knowledge, yes to discovery and yes to a new era of hope for all Americans,” he said.
Bush announced strict limits three years ago on federal support for embryonic stem cell research, which many who oppose abortion say involves the taking of nascent human life.
Kerry’s comments, two days before the third anniversary of Bush’s stem-cell order, aired as the senator and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, pushed westward on a post-convention swing through 22 states.
The Democratic standard bearers arrived in Colorado after traveling overnight from Kansas City, Mo., aboard their campaign train.
In a decision that underscored the reality of the race for the White House, their train rolled without stopping through the heavily Republican state of Kansas. It was near midnight when the Democratic entourage crossed into Kansas from Missouri and near dawn when it rolled out again into contested Colorado.
Bush won Colorado by 9 percentage points in 2000, but Kerry has decided to challenge the president for its eight electoral votes.
Chris Gates, the state Democratic chairman, said Republicans outnumber Democrats by 190,000 registered voters in Colorado, but he said many are moderates ready to reject Bush’s conservatism. He also said Kerry can appeal successfully to independents, who outnumber Democrats.
At his first stop in the state, Kerry spoke briefly from the bunting-draped back of his train. “We’re taking your hopes, your dreams, your standards … to the White House,” he said.
In his radio address, Kerry pointed out that three years have passed since Bush announced on Aug. 9, 2001, that he would limit federal spending for stem cell research to lines then in existence.
“Those affected by this decision already mark so many hard anniversaries of their own,” he said. “Marking today’s anniversary only adds to the loss and the pain.”
Embryonic stem cells can morph into any cell of the body. Many scientists say that opens the possibility of finding treatments or cures for conditions including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Many abortion opponents protest the use of embryonic stem cells for research because they come from human embryos a few days old. The embryo must be destroyed to obtain the stem cells, which is opposed by people who consider life to begin at conception.
“In America, we don’t sacrifice science for ideology,” Kerry said. “People of good will and good sense can resolve the ethical issues without stopping lifesaving research.”
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