Tom Coburn: Bill should die by veto

"As a practicing physician and two-time cancer survivor, I am intrigued by the potential of embryonic stem cell research. However, liberalizing President Bush's stem cell policy would be both unethical and unnecessary.

"The bill Majority Leader Bill Frist recently endorsed would, for the first time, direct the federal government to use taxpayer dollars to destroy human embryos. This proposal is based on a false hope. Not a single treatment has been developed from embryonic stem cells. Yet more than 60 treatments have been developed from stem cells in umbilical cord blood and adult tissues." ...

"Twelve years ago, then-president Bill Clinton permitted research on discarded fetal tissue from abortion clinics because he was told that it was the best avenue to reach vital cures. No cures were produced. Today, supporters of embryonic stem cell research are making similar claims.

"Congress can help scientists realize the promise of embryonic stem cell research without authorizing the destruction of human life in the process. The president would be wise to veto this legislation."

Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, maintains a family medicine and obstetrics practice in Muskogee.