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CNN Live At Daybreak

Careful Consideration Went into Bush's Stem Cell Decision

Aired August 09, 2001 - 08:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush and his decision tonight that will be revealed to the country in a 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time press conference federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

And right now, on the phone from Waco, Texas, is our Kelly Wallace.

Kelly, what can you tell us?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Vince, I spoke with a senior administration official just a short time ago who said that the president came to his conclusion this week after spending time on his ranch in Crawford -- after spending time thinking about all of the meetings and all of the people he has talked to -- everything he has read over the past few months that he came to his conclusion this week. And that he had decided days ago, according to this official, that it was important to speak and talk directly with the American people. And so his aides presented him with a range of options, including traveling to a city to present his decision, as well as delivering a nationally televised address. And obviously, that is the decision that this White House has made. The president will do this address at 9:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

This official saying that the president views this as one of the most important decisions of his presidency so far -- certainly one of the most difficult, according to this official.

The president also, this official saying, feeling that this decision could be one of the most important decisions of his entire presidency. And the decision is, of course, whether to allow federal tax dollars to be used to back research on stem cells obtained from human embryos.

And as we had heard, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson say on our air earlier this morning, the president has talked to all supporters of this research, who say it could lead to dramatic new breakthroughs in the treatment of various diseases, as well as opponents, including Catholics and the pope, who believe that this would be -- involve the destruction of human embryos. And they feel that is the same as destroying a human life.

So the president saying this is a difficult decision. And, Vince, he has all along said he is going to try to balance the hopes and promise of science with the questions of ethics and morality.

He has also said that this decision is way beyond politics. But as we have been reporting, his decision will definitely have political consequences, because if he decides to back this research, some conservatives, who are very much against this, will be very, very angry. And they will point to comments that the president made during the campaign, even just in May when he said that he would not support research -- federal funding of research that would involve the destruction of human embryos.

So they will look at that as maybe a flip flop in going against his promises and statements made. So it will have political consequences, but again, this president saying it is beyond politics, and he is trying to balance science with questions of ethics and morality -- Vince.

CELLINI: Well, that's true. It could be very divisive -- a very important decision, perhaps his most important domestic decision to date.

Thank you, Kelly Wallace. And again, we can tell you that the president and press aides will meet with reporters at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time in Crawford to address this situation, to answer the early questions, and CNN will cover that live.

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