Dreier Statement on President’s
Stem Cell Decision

August 13, 2001

WASHINGTON - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to President Bush’s decision on stem cell research:

“President Bush’s decision on stem cell research was both responsible and reasonable. His approach to reaching the decision demonstrated tremendous care for the moral, ethical and medical questions involved.

“Millions of American families have been deeply impacted by diseases that someday could be cured by treatments developed from stem cell research. But as of today, we simply don’t know how this will turn out. This makes the caution with which President Bush has approached this issue all the more important.

“A friend of mine spoke these words at his own father’s funeral, ‘For my father's sake, I hope that research on the cause and cure for Parkinson's disease will proceed robustly, sensitive to the sanctity of life in any human form, no matter how nascent or abstract, but no less responsive to the plight of the already living who must endure the conscious suffering of a horrible disease that still runs unchecked, and eventually kills.’

“President Bush’s decision on this difficult question strikes that balance. It’s my hope that the same care will be given to the similarly complex questions that are certain to be raised by cutting edge science in the coming years.”