[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[August 9, 2001]
[Pages 953-956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Address to the Nation on Stem Cell Research
August 9, 2001

    Good evening. I appreciate you giving me a few minutes of your time 
tonight so I can discuss with you a complex and difficult issue, an 
issue that is one of the most profound of our time.
    The issue of research involving stem cells derived from human 
embryos is increasingly the subject of a national debate and dinner 
table discussions. The issue is confronted every day in laboratories as 
scientists ponder the ethical ramifications of their work. It is 
agonized over by parents and many couples as they try to have children 
or to save children already born. The issue is debated within the 
church, with people of different faiths, even many of the same faith, 
coming to different conclusions. Many people are finding that the more 
they know about stem cell research, the less certain they are about the 
right ethical and moral conclusions.
    My administration must decide whether to allow Federal funds, your 
tax dollars, to be used for scientific research on stem cells derived 
from human embryos. A large number of these embryos already exist. They 
are the product of a process called in vitro fertilization, which helps 
so many couples conceive children. When doctors match sperm and egg to 
create life outside the womb, they usually produce more embryos than are 
implanted in the mother. Once a couple successfully has children, or if 
they are unsuccessful, the additional embryos remain frozen in 
laboratories. Some will not survive during long storage; others

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are destroyed. A number have been donated to science and used to create 
privately funded stem cell lines. And a few have been implanted in an 
adoptive mother and born and are today healthy children.
    Based on preliminary work that has been privately funded, scientists 
believe further research using stem cells offers great promise that 
could help improve the lives of those who suffer from many terrible 
diseases, from juvenile diabetes to Alzheimer's, from Parkinson's to 
spinal cord injuries. And while scientists admit they are not yet 
certain, they believe stem cells derived from embryos have unique 
potential.
    You should also know that stem cells can be derived from sources 
other than embryos: from adult cells, from umbilical cords that are 
discarded after babies are born, from human placentas. And many 
scientists feel research on these types of stem cells is also promising. 
Many patients suffering from a range of diseases are already being 
helped with treatments developed from adult stem cells. However, most 
scientists, at least today, believe that research on embryonic stem 
cells offer the most promise because these cells have the potential to 
develop in all of the tissues in the body.
    Scientists further believe that rapid progress in this research will 
come only with Federal funds. Federal dollars help attract the best and 
brightest scientists. They ensure new discoveries are widely shared at 
the largest number of research facilities and that the research is 
directed toward the greatest public good.
    The United States has a long and proud record of leading the world 
toward advances in science and medicine that improve human life. And the 
United States has a long and proud record of upholding the highest 
standards of ethics as we expand the limits of science and knowledge. 
Research on embryonic stem cells raises profound ethical questions, 
because extracting the stem cell destroys the embryo and thus destroys 
its potential for life. Like a snowflake, each of these embryos is 
unique, with the unique genetic potential of an individual human being.
    As I thought through this issue, I kept returning to two fundamental 
questions: First, are these frozen embryos human life and, therefore, 
something precious to be protected? And second, if they're going to be 
destroyed anyway, shouldn't they be used for a greater good, for 
research that has the potential to save and improve other lives?
    I've asked those questions and others of scientists, scholars, 
bioethicists, religious leaders, doctors, researchers, Members of 
Congress, my Cabinet, and my friends. I have read heartfelt letters from 
many Americans. I have given this issue a great deal of thought, prayer, 
and considerable reflection. And I have found widespread disagreement.
    On the first issue, are these embryos human life? Well, one 
researcher told me he believes this 5-day-old cluster of cells is not an 
embryo, not yet an individual, but a pre-embryo. He argued that it has 
the potential for life, but it is not a life because it cannot develop 
on its own. An ethicist dismissed that as a callous attempt at 
rationalization. ``Make no mistake,'' he told me, ``that cluster of 
cells is the same way you and I and all the rest of us started our 
lives. One goes with a heavy heart if we use these,'' he said, ``because 
we are dealing with the seeds of the next generation.''
    And to the other crucial question, if these are going to be 
destroyed anyway, why not use them for good purpose, I also found 
different answers. Many argue these embryos are byproducts of a process 
that helps create life, and we should allow couples to donate them to 
science so they can be used for good purpose instead of wasting their 
potential. Others will argue there's no such thing as excess life and 
the fact that a living being is going to die does not justify 
experimenting on it or exploiting it as a natural resource.

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    At its core, this issue forces us to confront fundamental questions 
about the beginnings of life and the ends of science. It lies at a 
difficult moral intersection, juxtaposing the need to protect life in 
all its phases with the prospect of saving and improving life in all its 
stages.
    As the discoveries of modern science create tremendous hope, they 
also lay vast ethical minefields. As the genius of science extends the 
horizons of what we can do, we increasingly confront complex questions 
about what we should do. We have arrived at that brave new world that 
seemed so distant in 1932, when Aldous Huxley wrote about human beings 
created in test tubes in what he called a ``hatchery.'' In recent weeks, 
we learned that scientists have created human embryos in test tubes 
solely to experiment on them. This is deeply troubling and a warning 
sign that should prompt all of us to think through these issues very 
carefully.
    Embryonic stem cell research is at the leading edge of a series of 
moral hazards. The initial stem cell researcher was at first reluctant 
to begin his research, fearing it might be used for human cloning. 
Scientists have already cloned a sheep. Researchers are telling us the 
next step could be to clone human beings to create individual designer 
stem cells, essentially to grow another you, to be available in case you 
need another heart or lung or liver.
    I strongly oppose human cloning, as do most Americans. We recoil at 
the idea of growing human beings for spare body parts or creating life 
for our convenience. And while we must devote enormous energy to 
conquering disease, it is equally important that we pay attention to the 
moral concerns raised by the new frontier of human embryo stem cell 
research. Even the most noble ends do not justify any means.
    My position on these issues is shaped by deeply held beliefs. I'm a 
strong supporter of science and technology and believe they have the 
potential for incredible good, to improve lives, to save life, to 
conquer disease. Research offers hope that millions of our loved ones 
may be cured of a disease and rid of their suffering. I have friends 
whose children suffer from juvenile diabetes. Nancy Reagan has written 
me about President Reagan's struggle with Alzheimer's. My own family has 
confronted the tragedy of childhood leukemia. And like all Americans, I 
have great hope for cures.
    I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry 
about a culture that devalues life and believe as your President I have 
an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in 
America and throughout the world. And while we're all hopeful about the 
potential of this research, no one can be certain that the science will 
live up to the hope it has generated.
    Eight years ago, scientists believed fetal tissue research offered 
great hope for cures and treatments, yet the progress to date has not 
lived up to its initial expectations. Embryonic stem cell research 
offers both great promise and great peril. So I have decided we must 
proceed with great care.
    As a result of private research, more than 60 genetically diverse 
stem cell lines already exist. They were created from embryos that have 
already been destroyed, and they have the ability to regenerate 
themselves indefinitely, creating ongoing opportunities for research. I 
have concluded that we should allow Federal funds to be used for 
research on these existing stem cell lines, where the life and death 
decision has already been made.
    Leading scientists tell me research on these 60 lines has great 
promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures. This allows 
us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without 
crossing a fundamental moral line by providing taxpayer funding that 
would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that 
have at least the potential for life.
    I also believe that great scientific progress can be made through 
aggressive

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Federal funding of research on umbilical cord, placenta, adult, and 
animal stem cells which do not involve the same moral dilemma. This 
year, your Government will spend $250 million on this important 
research.
    I will also name a President's council to monitor stem cell 
research, to recommend appropriate guidelines and regulations, and to 
consider all of the medical and ethical ramifications of biomedical 
innovation. This council will consist of leading scientists, doctors, 
ethicists, lawyers, theologians, and others and will be chaired by Dr. 
Leon Kass, a leading biomedical ethicist from the 
University of Chicago. This council will keep us apprised of new 
developments and give our Nation a forum to continue to discuss and 
evaluate these important issues.
    As we go forward, I hope we will always be guided by both intellect 
and heart, by both our capabilities and our conscience. I have made this 
decision with great care, and I pray it is the right one.
    Thank you for listening. Good night, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 8:01 p.m. from the Bush Ranch in Crawford, 
TX.