Friday, August 10, 2001

Secretary Tommy Thompson came to NIH to hold a press conference to discuss the embryonic stem cell decision. He requested that I be with him on stage along with Claude Lenfant, Lana Skirboll, Ruth Kirschstein, and Audrey Penn (acting Director of NINDS). When he asked me to speak, I made a statement thanking him for his leadership (since he favored allowing funding all along) and also thanked the President for his courage in making a difficult choice, but one that will allow us to go forward and do some good for mankind. I also pointed out the important fact that now we can do head-to-head comparisons of stem cells derived from embryos versus adults versus fetal tissue. My comments appeared on the front page of the New York Times on August 11 and a clip of my comments was shown on the Lehr Newshour on the evening of August 10. I am sure that some scientists will criticize me for saying that the decision was a positive thing. However, it is clear to me that these types of people are clueless when it comes to the world of Washington, D.C. Furthermore, the far right will also be upset since I favored the use of embryonic stem cells at all. I care even less about what they think of my position. All in all, I believe that this was a good day for biomedical research. Lana Skirboll deserves much create for turning the President around.