Legislation in Congress
Act to Preserve your own Freedom
PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH ON BABIES FOR FUN & PROFIT
Frist Breaks With Bush on Stem-Cell
Frist Breaks With Bush on Stem-Cell Bill
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 30/05
WASHINGTON - AP - Jul 30/05 - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist endorsed government-funded research on human embryonic stem cells Friday, breaking with President Bush and the religious conservatives he's been courting for a 2008 presidential bid. He drew praise from former first lady Nancy Reagan.
"It isn't just a matter of faith, it's a matter of science," Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon, said in a Senate speech. "The president's policy should be modified."
Bush remained intent on vetoing the House-passed bill that would loosen his 2001 restrictions on funding of research using stem cells from days-old embryos in a search for cures to spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's and other diseases. Frist, a Tennessee Republican, called Bush around dinnertime Thursday to tell him of his decision.
"The president said, 'You've got to vote your conscience,'" White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. The two appeared on friendly terms Friday when Frist appeared by the president's side at a bill-signing ceremony.
Mrs. Reagan, also called by Frist the night before, began championing stem cell research while caring for her husband, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease for more than decade before his death last year, and she has lobbied Congress quietly.
"Thank you, Dr. Frist, for standing up for America's patients," she said in a statement.
Mrs. Reagan said on MSNBC that she hoped Bush would now look at the issue differently and not veto the bill, a view echoed by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a cancer patient
who is the measure's chief sponsor in the Senate.
"I know that the president will listen to what Senator Frist has to say," Specter said. "I'm not saying he is going to agree with it. But what Senator Frist has had to say is weighty, and I think may bring us all together on this issue."
Anti-abortion religious conservatives, a key constituency for any aspiring Republican presidential nominee, swiftly made their negative reaction clear.
"He cannot be pro-life and pro-embryonic stem cell funding," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition. "Nor can he turn around and expect widespread endorsement from the pro-life community if he should decide to run for president."
House conservatives were incensed.
"I think the courageous speech would have been to continue to stand strongly in defense of the sanctity of life," said Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey
, himself a physician. "We will fight him on this to the very end."
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who denounced embryonic stem cell research as "dismemberment of living, distinct human beings" during the House debate in May, called Frist "a good man ... advocating a bad policy."
Because taking embryonic stem cells destroys embryos, Bush and many other conservatives equate the process with abortion and view it as immoral.
With recent polls showing that some two-thirds of Americans support embryonic stem cell research and a majority favor fewer restrictions on taxpayer funding for it, Frist's speech could also help him win over moderates.
His announcement came the same week that a group of supporters for the research, StemPAC, began a television ad in New Hampshire, site of the first 2008 presidential primary, criticizing Frist for not scheduling a vote on the issue. Frist said the Senate would debate and vote on the issue in the fall.
The market reflected Frist's announcement, with shares of stem cell research companies rising Friday. Shares for Geron Corp., which
"researches" embryonic stem cells, rose 74 cents, or 7.2 percent, to close at $10.95 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Fifty Republicans in the House joined Democrats in passing the bill in May by a margin of 44 votes, not enough to override a presidential veto.
Supporters predicted Frist's endorsement would give the bill a veto-proof two-thirds majority in the Senate and added it might also turn some House votes.
"My heart jumped a beat when I heard Senator Frist's speech this morning," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein
, D-Calif., a [Liberal Pro-Abortion Anti-Baby] co-sponsor of the bill. "His decision will generate new momentum for embryonic stem cell research and speed passage of this bill."
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Frist's decision "will bring hope to millions of Americans."
Supporters of the research said the announcement was unexpected.
"If you had told us two weeks ago that he was going to do this today on the floor, I would have told you were crazy," said Sarah Chamberlain, executive director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, which helped coordinate support for the House bill.
Several Republicans close to Frist said he came to his decision after consulting with scientists at Stanford University and elsewhere and watching biomedical research advance overseas
He said the 22 lines of embryonic stem cells now available for research are deteriorating and don't meet the needs of scientists searching for cures. Stem cells derived from embryos can develop into any kind of tissue in the body. Scientists are looking at ways to manipulate them to replace diseased or injured tissues.
___
The bills are HR 810 and S 471.
Average (158 votes)
» Recommended Stories
Full Coverage: Stem Cell Research
News Stories
Bush Holds Fast to Stem-Cell Veto Threat AP via Yahoo! News, Jul 29 Veering From Bush, Frist Backs Funding for Stem Cell Research at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Jul 29 Senate leader Frist backs stem cell research Reuters via Yahoo! News, Jul 29 Scientists Claim to Find Cells That Restore Egg Production at The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Jul 28 Feature Articles
Easing Rules Could Free Up Stem Cells AP via Yahoo! News, Jul 29 How to Save Stem-Cell Research at Wired News, Jul 21 Opinion & Editorials
The Organ Factory at Slate, Jul 25 On stem cells, Specter's playing for keeps at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req'd), Jul 21
Politics News
Congress Sends Bush Hard-Fought Bills AP Frist Breaks With Bush on Stem-Cell Bill AP Officials: Bush Plans to Install Bolton AP Senate to Begin Roberts Hearings Sept. 6 AP Congress Passes Far-Reaching Energy Bill AP Most Viewed - Politics
Officials: Bush Plans to Install Bolton AP Congress Approves $300B Highway Bill AP Extended Daylight-Saving Plan Worries Some AP Parts of 'Patriot Act' unconstitutional, vague: Judge AFP Congress Sends Bush Hard-Fought Bills AP
AP Photo: Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., right, watches President Bush, left, speak prior to signing...
Slideshow: Stem Cell Research
Video
Frist to Back Relaxing Limits on Stem Cells AP Video
Politics - U. S. Congress
Politics - U.S. Senate
President Bush
Alzheimer's disease
Tom DeLay
Sen. Arlen Specter
Rep. Phil Gingrey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILL FRIST NO CONSERVATIVE
Senate Leader Frist Sold Hospital Shares Before Drop
By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
Sept 20/05
WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in his family's hospital corporation
about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell nearly 15 percent.
ADVERTISEMENT
Frist held an undisclosed amount of stock in Hospital Corporation of
America, based in Nashville, Tenn., the nation's largest for-profit hospital
chain. On June 13, he instructed the trustee managing the assets to sell his HCA shares and those of his wife and children, said Amy Call, a spokeswoman for Frist.
Frist's shares were sold by July 1 and those of his wife and children by July 8, Call said. The trustee decided when to sell the shares, and the Tennessee Republican had no control over the exact time they were sold, she said.
HCA shares peaked at midyear, climbing to $58.22 a share on June 22. After slipping slightly for two weeks, the price fell to $49.90 on July 13 after the company announced its quarterly earnings would not meet analysts' expectations. On Tuesday, the shares closed at $48.76.
The value of Frist's stock at the time of the sale was not disclosed. Earlier this year, he reported holding blind trusts valued at $7 million to $35 million.
Blind trusts are used to avoid conflicts of interest. Assets are turned over to a trustee who manages them without divulging any purchases or sales and reports only the total value and income earned to the owner.
To keep the trust blind, Frist was not allowed to know how much HCA stock he owned, Call said, but he was allowed to ask for all of it to be sold.
Frist, a surgeon first elected to the Senate in 1994, had been criticized for maintaining the holdings while dealing with legislation affecting the medical industry and managed care
Full
Story Here
Other areas of the Website Potentially of Interest
Global Treaties/ Treaty Law / International Law
Human Rights - & Increasing Persecutions
We would love to hear from you.
Please Feel Free to write to us and share your comments, and your concerns and questions. We can be reached at codextruth@yahoo.com
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS / WTO/ CAFTA / FTAA ACTION PAGE
How to Fight Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex)
How to Fight NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA & WTO, Anti-Freedom Legislation
Get Real Information & Start Making a Difference
Click here to reach our CODEX ALIMENTARIUS/ CAFTA Action Page
KEY LEGAL CASES INVOLVING FREE SPEECH and the FIRST AMENDMENT
(TO U.S. Bill of Rights, Rights that ALL American Citizens have)
Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496 (1939).
The United States Supreme Court held that citizens have a "guaranteed access" to streets, parks, and other "traditional public forum." The privilege to use the streets and parks for communication of views may be regulated in the best interests of all, but it must not, under the guise of regulation, be abridged or denied. Mere inconvenience to the government will not outweigh free speech interests. The government must use the least restrictive means of achieving legitimate, content neutral objectives.
Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147 (1939). The United States Supreme Court did not allow cities to completely forbid leaflet distribution in order to prevent littering. The objective of keeping the streets clean does not outweigh the right to distribute literature in public.
Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51 (1965). Public officials may
not be given overly broad discretion to grant or deny permits or licenses for free speech.
Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940). Speech may
not be prohibited merely because it offends some listeners.
Kunz v. New York, 340 U.S. 290 (1951). The United States Supreme Court did not allow a permit to include any restrictions on a speaker's right of free expression. Permits may not be used as a prior restraint on free speech activities. Inappropriate or illegal activities may only be punished after they have occurred.
Forsyth County v. The Nationalist Movement, 112 S.Ct. 2395
(1992). A city may not consider the listeners' reaction to a speaker when permitting free speech activities.
Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536 (1965). Hecklers may
not be allowed to veto a speaker's right of free speech. Police must control a crowd rather than arrest the speaker in order to maintain order. Regulations may be imposed on free speech to control traffic flow.
Gregory v. City of Chicago, 394 U.S. 111 (1969). Peaceful marching, chanting, and singing is protected by the First Amendment.
Grayned v. Rockford, 408 U.S. 104 (1972). Free speech expression may be regulated for noise content in appropriate places such as hospitals or schools
while classes are in session. The general test is to ask whether the expressive activity is basically incompatible with the normal activities of a particular place at a particular time. Unamplified speech is permissible for "street preachers" on public streets.
Please
Note: We do try to be accurate. If you see anything which you believe
Is not
correct on our website, please do bring it to our attention.
Thank you
