Sen. Hillary Clinton pledged to end the ban on stem cell research as president in Hanover, NH recently. Speaking to an overflow crowd, Clinton lambasted the White House for Bush's "contempt of science" and suggested Bush has turned DC into an "evidence free zone". This administration and congressional Republicans indeed have preferred ideology to science, to the detriment of our nation. Bush, unfortunately, today will veto stem cell legislation, which passed the Congress with bi-partisan support.

Sen. Hillary Clinton pledged to end the ban on stem cell research as president in Hanover, NH recently. Speaking to an overflow crowd, Clinton lambasted the White House for Bush's "contempt of science" and suggested Bush has turned DC into an "evidence free zone." This administration and congressional Republicans indeed have preferred ideology to science, to the detriment of our nation. Bush, unfortunately, today vetoed stem cell legislation, which passed the Congress with bi-partisan support.

Several Republican supporters joined Sen. Clinton to support stem cell research. Steve Walters brought his 10-yr old son, Alex, to help campaign for Clinton. Alex suffers type 1 diabetes, and could benefit from cures discovered by stem cell research. Walters, a registered Republican, says he supports Clinton out of frustration with the Bush administration.

"This is not a religious issue," he said. "It's really about a little boy who's 10 years old and another 100 million Americans who could benefit from this research."
North Andover Eagle Tribune.

Similarly, another NH Republican, Kathleen Clark of Antrim, attended with her daughter who was injured in a car accident. Ms. Clark now supports Clinton because of her position on stem cell research. "She's pulling me in," she told the Valley News after the event. Clinton said she is trying to get other senators to override Bush's veto. However, Clinton did not limit her criticism to stem cell positions; she admonished the president's position as part of his "disregard of evidence in favor of ideology."

Clinton derided the Republicans as politicizing science, using examples such as global warming and emergency contraception. She even criticized the GOP presidential candidates for not believing in evolution. Her comments, specific to stem cell policy, fit perfectly with regard to science in general: "We're going backward. We're not just stalled. We're going backward."

Her presidency will move science forward, reinforcing America's prominence in scientific research. As Clinton said,"we've got to get back to looking to evidence-based decision making that I believe should be at the root of our democracy."