Researchers hope for change on stem cell politics

By Julie Steenhuysen

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Stem cell experts said on Monday they hope the next U.S. president will end political curbs on embryonic stem cell research but some worry recent comments by Republican candidate John McCain suggest his past support for such research may be waning.

Both McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have said they favor easing restrictions on spending public money to finance embryonic stem cell research.

"My hopes are that politics get out of it," University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researcher James Thomson told reporters. "It's been a long eight years," he added, referring to President George W. Bush's staunch opposition to such research.

Stem cells taken from balls of cells that develop days after conception offer promise for regenerative medicine because they give rise to all tissues in the body.

But some oppose their use because they involve destruction of the embryo.

In 2001, Bush issued an executive order allowing only limited federal funding of work involving human embryonic stem cells. Congress has tried several times to loosen restrictions but Bush has vetoed every effort.

Obama supports embryonic stem cell research. McCain's stand is less clear.

"While I support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, I believe clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress," McCain said in a statement given September 15 to a website devoted to discussing science and the elections, www.sciencedebate2008.com/.