[Gelato]

In case anyone missed it:

Romney's stem cell view may upset the right
Use of excess embryos at issue
By Scott Helman, Globe Staff | February 11, 2007

In the heated debate among conservatives over whether Mitt Romney deserves their vote, the focus has been largely on whether his big swings to the right on social issues are sincere.

But on the charged issue of stem cell research, he's facing conservative criticism of a different shade: that he hasn't swung far enough.

Unlike many on the right, Romney supports research on excess embryos created during fertility treatments. Because couples are making embryos to have a baby, he reasons, it is ethical to use the leftovers for research when they would otherwise just be discarded.

Romney's position, however, is at odds with the views of many conservative anti abortion activists, who believe that any work on stem cells derived from human embryos is wrong, because it destroys the embryos in the process. Some say Romney's views make him unacceptable to many voters and will complicate his attempt to win the 2008 GOP nomination by appealing to the party's conservative flank.

Romney's views on stem cell research, which have drawn little public scrutiny amid the static over his shifts on abortion and gay rights, are sure to attract more attention with Congress poised to pass a bill expanding federal support for human embryonic stem cell research, the latest flashpoint in a long-running debate about the sanctity of life and when it begins.

"It's a no-no for some people," Nick Lantinga, a Republican activist in heavily conservative northwest Iowa, said of Romney's support of using excess embryos.

[. . .]

Congress sought to lift the ban last year by passing the CastleDeGette bill. The measure seeks to promote, under certain conditions, research on embryos left over from fertility treatments by sanctioning federal funding for it. It would not authorize federal funding for research that involves cloning.

Bush, using his first presidential veto, rejected the bill.

But the issue is pressing again -- the House passed an identical measure last month and the Senate is expected to follow suit. With Congress still apparently lacking the votes to override a Bush veto, the views of the next president are crucial.

Romney, in an illustration of his delicate maneuvering on the issue, supports the principle at the heart of the bill -- that it's ethical to use excess embryos for research -- but opposes the bill itself, in part because he objects to any expansion of taxpayer-funded human embryonic stem cell research.

Romney aide Peter Flaherty explained in an e-mail statement that Romney does not believe the public should pay for research that is "ethically troublesome."

"Governor Romney believes that because of its inherent ethical issues this research should not be funded by the taxpayers," Flaherty said, adding that Romney supports government funding of research into alternative methods of extracting stem cells.

[. . .]

Romney's views on stem cell research have evolved over the past five years. When he ran for governor in 2002, he endorsed embryonic stem cell research in broad terms, saying at one campaign stop that he would lobby Bush to embrace it.

But in February 2005, as the state Legislature was considering a bill to promote embryonic stem cell research, Romney, after consulting with specialists on both sides of the issue, tried to forge a middle ground: He would fight efforts to clone human embryos for research, he said, but believed it was ethical to experiment on embryos left over from fertility treatments.

Romney continues to hold that position, but he also now expresses opposition to expanding federal funding for research on excess embryos.

[. . .]

Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs for the influential Family Research Council, noted that Romney, after his education on stem cell research as governor led him to abandon his past support for abortion rights, now describes himself as "firmly pro-life." But the organization is concerned that Romney's position on stem cell research is not a pure "pro-life" position.

[. . .]

"Mitt Romney's position on embryonic stem cell research is not pro-life, and no one should say that it is," the Republican National Coalition for Life, a group founded by conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, said in a weekly e-mail.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/11/romneys_stem_cell_view_may_upset_the_right/

[EternalVigilance]

Great post!

As I've been telling anyone who will listen: Romney is the same liberal he's always been, in spite of his brazen lying to the contrary.