Presenting a bipartisan front against a proposed federal law they say would gut California's new $3-billion embryonic stem cell agency, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein jointly denounced a U.S. Senate bill Tuesday that would criminalize all forms of cloning human embryos, including procedures done for research purposes.
"The people have spoken, and they have said in California: 'We want you to go ahead with any and all embryonic stem cell research,' " said Feinstein, speaking at a news conference in a crowded foyer at a UCLA medical school building in Westwood. "But this research is in danger. If some in Washington get their way, this research will be stopped in its tracks."
Schwarzenegger said he spoke Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to seek his support, or at least cooperation, in Feinstein's efforts.
"I told him how important it is to me and others," Schwarzenegger said. "Maybe he is not all the way there yet, but maybe he can be. It is very important that as many people as possible let him and others know how they feel. The key is not to look at it as a Republican or Democratic issue."
The joint appearance of the state's most powerful Republican and most popular Democrat -- joined by Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- underscored continuing concern among backers of embryonic stem cell research about opposition in Washington.
One key issue in the debate is human cloning.
Researchers want to remain free to take cells from individuals who suffer from certain debilitating diseases and use the cells to clone embryos. The procedure is often referred to as "therapeutic cloning." Some researchers believe that stem cells taken from the cloned embryos could provide important clues to how diseases develop and how they could be stopped. Such cell lines would be a genetic match for the donor, potentially allowing for the creation of rejection-proof therapies.
As with other forms of embryonic stem cell research, obtaining the stem cells would involve destroying the embryo -- indeed, California law requires that cloned embryos be destroyed no later than 12 days after creation to prevent any attempt to produce cloned babies.
Some supporters of laboratory use of embryonic stem cells fear that public support for the research may dwindle if opponents focus attention on cloning rather than the prospects for stem cells. One measure of that concern is that advocates of stem cell research prefer to avoid the label of cloning and instead use the technical term "somatic cell nuclear transfer."
