ROMNEY STATEMENTS ACCELERATE DEBATE ON NEW SENATE STEM CELL BILL

By Amy Lambiaso
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

       STATE HOUSE, BOSTON--Gov. Mitt Romney and Senate President Robert Travaglini are suddenly in a high stakes debate over ethical implications of a push to authorize embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts.
       The conflict between two of the state’s top elected officials comes one day after Senate leaders outlined details of a bill to promote stem cell research in the state by clarifying a 30-year-old law that some argue leaves scientists open to criminal charges. Romney declares himself a stem cell research supporter, but believes the Senate’s legislation could cross the line into human cloning, which he opposes.
       Scientists argue that the ability to study stem cells can help further
their understanding of the human body and diseases such as cancer and birth defects that develop from problems within human tissues. That greater understanding can potentially lead to cures to life-threatening diseases, scientists say.
       Researchers at Harvard University recently began creating embryonic stem cells through a so-called nuclear transfer, or the creation of embryos for the sole purpose of research, Dr. George Daley, a stem cell researcher at Children’s Hospital, said at a press conference here with Travaglini. That process allows scientists to work on an exact replica of a human cell to determine how to best treat the human body.
        In an interview with reporters Thursday, Romney said that process crosses an ethical line, one that he considers cloning a human embryo. Performing research on surplus embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization that would otherwise be discarded should be allowable, he said.
       “For me, there’s a very clear ethical line here,” he said. “The reality is that surplus embryos are created during in-vitro fertilization. And rather than destroy those embryos, I would allow them to be used for stem cell research” with parental consent.
       Romney called the so-called nuclear transfer research a “new wrinkle” in science that he wasn’t aware of until last fall. And after discussing the issue with his wife, Ann, he said he believes creating embryos only for research is cloning and is unethical.
       Before learning of this research, Romney said he lobbied for the
legalization of stem cell research in Massachusetts and tried to convince former House Speaker Thomas Finneran – a former stem cell research opponent – to support similar legislation.
       Travaglini disagrees with Romney’s position, claiming his bill specifically bans cloning, and is an effort targeted at saving lives and helping children, maintaining the state’s lead in the health care industry, and solidifying the state’s competitive edge in attracting the most talented researchers.
       “Anybody who reads legislation is going to have their own interpretation,” said Travaglini, who added that the governor’s newly disclosed views were not a surprise to him.
       The bill specifically prohibits human reproductive cloning, which the
National Institutes of Health described as the deliberate production of
genetically identical individuals.
        “When we create a stem cell, it is for the specific purpose of a patient or a person already in mind that is compatible with the direction of the research in finding a cure in that individual,” Travaglini said. “This is not going to be a widespread, wholesale type of situation where we’re just going to welcome for the purposes of research, embryonic stem cells. It’s just not the case.”
        “Cloning is scary because it makes copies of babies,” Daley said. “There are no legitimate scientists anywhere in the world, I would argue, that want to make babies with this methodology.”
       Romney first clarified his position in a New York Times story today, saying he was opposed to the Senate’s legislation and would likely propose his own bill that would establish criminal and civil penalties for research like that being done at Harvard and Children’s Hospital.
       Today, Romney told reporters that he’d be “happy” to propose separate legislation that would support stem cell research while not enabling scientists to create embryos only for research purposes. Travaglini said he would also be open to any amendments from Romney and expects similar opposition to surface during the legislative process.
       “I’ve been around long enough to know that the initial submission of
language in legislation usually is not the final product that surfaces from the legislative process,” Travaglini said.