    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 32 (Monday, August 13, 2001)]
    [Pages 1149-1151]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Address to the Nation on Stem Cell Research From Crawford, Texas

    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 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

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    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.
        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

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    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 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. at the Bush Ranch.