The Issue:Where exactly does Rick Santorum stand on expansion of stem cell research?
|
Where exactly does Rick Santorum stand on expansion of stem cell research?
Shortly before the Memorial Day recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810), a bipartisan bill introduced by Representatives Castle (R-DE) and DeGette (D-CO) to provide federal funding for a wider range of stem cell research and establish ethical guidelines ensuring such research is medically and morally sound.
Pennsylvania's senior U.S. Senator Arlen Specter joined with Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to sponsor a similar bill in the Senate, S.471 (also called the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act). Right now, Senator Specter is opening hearings on that bill and, he says, "I think it's time that a little hell was raised about this subject.”
Indeed, Senator Specter – it is time.
In sharp contrast to Specter’s actions in the Senate, Rick Santorum has chosen to continue his uncompromising opposition to any expansion of such potentially life-saving medical research, stating that he was "disheartened" by the House vote and comparing Specter's bill to "the wholesale destruction of human life paid for by the federal government." He even pledged his support for a presidential veto should this bipartisan measure pass the Senate as well as the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, everyone who cares about this issue must find Santorum’s rigid opposition to expanded stem cell research to be deeply disappointing and utterly confusing.
Disappointing because, unlike so many conservative Republicans from Nancy Reagan to Orrin Hatch, Rick is so unwilling to consider the lives that could be saved or improved because of such medical research.
And confusing because while he speaks out against stem cell research in moral terms, his re-election campaign committee has accepted well over $50,000 in contributions from companies that conduct this very kind of research, according to FEC filings compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.
Stem cell research offers both the promise of lifesaving cures and the opportunity for the U.S. and Pennsylvania to remain among the world's leaders in cutting-edge biotechnology. That leadership is threatened by debilitating limits on federal funding, this is too important an issue for Rick Santorum’s political gamesmanship and hypocrisy.
Maybe Rick will clarify his position on the issue of stem cell research?
He could do that by following the example of Senator Specter and his former Republican House colleague Jim Greenwood (who now leads the Biotechnology Industry association) and come out in support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.471).
Or he could be consistent in his stated moral principles by returning the more than $50,000 in campaign contributions he received from companies that conduct stem cell research.
An honest, consistent stand on this issue would be a good thing for everyone, right?