Title: More Important
Sponsor: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Type: TV ad
The message: Republican candidate Rick O’Donnell, running in the 7th Congressional District, sided with President George Bush when Bush vetoed legislation that would expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research to include the use of embryos scheduled for disposal by in-vitro fertilization clinics.
Fact: O’Donnell said he supported Bush’s veto for religious reasons. Since the veto, however, O’Donnell has embraced news reports that a California biotech company, Advanced Cell Technology Inc., has found a way to create stem-cell lines that do not necessarily require the destruction of embryos. O’Donnell has said that if those reports are true, he would support new legislation that would use stem cells that do not cause the destruction of embryos. Critics have charged that the researchers for Advanced Cell Technology, a publicly traded company, overstated the implications of their work.
– Christopher N. Osher
