Congresswoman Slams Religious Right's Assault on Science's "Edgier" Side

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Congresswoman Slams Religious Right's Assault on Science's "Edgier" Side

Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette doesn't like the Bush administration's stance on stem cells, and she's not taking it sitting down
By Nikhil Swaminathan

Six-term Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette owns a dubious distinction: She is one of the two co-authors of the bill that garnered President George W. Bush's first-ever veto.


The subject of the legislation: embryonic stem cells. DeGette, who represents Colorado's 1st District—which includes Denver and its environs—is for them. The president isn't.


On July 19, 2006, President Bush ceremoniously vetoed the bill, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, even though it had passed both the House and Senate by wide margins—though the gaps were not large enough to override a veto. When he signed the veto, the chief executive was surrounded by so-called "snowflake babies," kids born from discarded IVF (in vitro fertilization) embryos that other couples had "adopted" through a Christian agency. These children wouldn't exist, he said, if embryos were used for stem cell research.


These publicity stunts, according to DeGette, have helped kill a wide range of legislation on sex and reproduction: the plan B "morning after" birth control pill, the human papillomavirus vaccine (touted as the best method for preventing cervical cancer), and even sex education—many Republicans advocate abstinence-only instruction.


ScientificAmerican.com caught up with DeGette recently to discuss her new book, Sex, Science and Stem Cells: Inside the Right Wing Assault on Reason, out today. An edited transcript follows.

Why wait so long into the Bush administration to take a stand against its policies—and those of the right wing?

It's really been about 14 years of this right wing escapade—ever since the Republicans took control of Congress—but it has spiraled out of control under the Bush administration. A lot of the policies were started under the Republican leadership of the House, like some of the abstinence-only sex education. But then, under the Bush administration, these policies have gone to a whole new level because they have been the focus of a lot of the Bush administration's efforts toward sex and reproduction.


One of the reasons the book is coming out right now is targeted at the fall 2008 elections to try to say to voters, "When you're looking at who to vote for this year, be it president or members of Congress, you really need to think about science when drafting public policy."

Continued (4 pages): Congresswoman Slams Religious Right's Assault on Science's "Edgier" Side: Scientific American


I completely agree with her on these points. One of the reasons that I can't vote for the republicans is their stance on issues related to science. It seems to usually stem from religious grounds too.

[motivez]

Agreed, it's a major sticking point for me with the Republican party as well.. the social aspects of the issues aside, they've continually censored scientific research that comes to conclusions it disagrees with, and done its best to limit scientific advancement in areas that would benefit the US, stem cell research being one of them..

That whole press conference was a joke, I mean, the reality is that there aren't enough parents to 'adopt' all of the potential children that could be created, meaning some of it will be discarded as medical waste

There's no good reason not to use it for research purposes that could benefit those of us who actually were born..