 "Photo: MCT Campus")
With the election coming up this November that will replace current President George W. Bush, the competitors, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, have shown their support and disapproval of many issues. One of these issues is the conflict of funding for embryonic stem cell research. Do these rivals support or oppose it?
Gail Naughton, Ph.D., dean of the San Diego State College of Business Administration, provides a detailed analysis on how the presidential election will impact stem cell research's federal funding.
"Whether McCain or Obama become president, there will be better support for embryonic stem cell research than with Bush," she said.
It is hard to say, she added, whether McCain will provide funding or not.
"In the Senate, McCain had voted twice for legislation that would have allowed the federal government to increase funds for research on embryonic stem cells," Naughton said.
There is also general concern over whether McCain will be persuaded by the anti-abortion movement whose support he needs in order to be elected, she added.
"If you go to McCain's Web site you will see that it does not explicitly state his support but rather states that he supports 'promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that does not involve the use of embryos,'" Naughton said.
SDSU financing junior Eddie Dixon thinks that adult stem cell research is a promising alternative to the embryonic variety, which he feels destroys human life.
"Adult stem cell research has had significant progress and achieved much success," Dixon said.
Naughton said that anti-abortion rights activists think they can get McCain to side with them on their stance against stem cells.
Obama, however, has a different opinion on the issue. Naughton said that Obama would definitely bring stronger support. "Obama actually co-sponsored both bills vetoed by Bush," she said. Supporters of Obama believe that if he becomes president one of his first actions will be to overturn the veto by Bush.
"Obama continues to be committed to science and math education at all levels and providing funding that keeps the U.S. competitive in scientific and medical research," Naughton said. His campaign representatives have reinforced his intention as president to execute an order to implement standards for federal funding.
However, recent financial issues have made the candidates review their budget and the prioritization of funds.
"During the debates on Friday evening, Obama stated that he understands that the new cuts must be made but emphasized that the budget must be re-prioritized in order to keep us competitive in science and technology worldwide," Naughton said. She said this supports his ongoing commitment to research.
In order to accomplish this goal though, he will have to make cuts in other areas in order to increase funding. Most supporters believe that Obama will implement cuts outside of technology and will look to use the surplus in the Iraq budget to support key research, including stem cell research.
"The general belief is that McCain sees embryonic stem cell research as an academic exercise while Obama is deeply committed to it," Naughton said.
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