Defusing stem cells
WASHINGTON - A week before the 2000 presidential election, former NIH Director Harold Varmus publicly endorsed Al Gore, warning that if elected, George W. Bush would shut down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, a step that he said could delay or prevent a medical revolution that would develop cures for numerous debilitating diseases.
As president, Bush's first high profile acts included making pro-life cabinet appointments and cutting U.S. support for international family planning projects that advocate abortion, lending credence to Varmus's prediction. And as Bush's first month in office was closing, the president declared to reporters that he is against federal funding of research on fetal tissue or stem cells derived from induced abortions...