CRAWFORD, Texas (BP)--Good evening. I appreciate you giving me a few minutes of your time tonight so I can discuss with you a complex and difficult issue, an issue that is one of the most profound of our time.

WASHINGTON (BP)--"As a result of private research, more than 60 genetically diverse stem cell lines already exist. ... I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these existing stem cell lines where the life and death decision has already been made. ... This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line, by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life." -- George W. Bush

WASHINGTON (BP)--After months of deliberating, President Bush will announce his decision tonight on whether to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The announcement will come in a televised address to the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern.

WASHINGTON (BP)--A key congressional committee approved a comprehensive ban on human cloning July 24.

LONDON (BP)--If President Bush was looking to Pope John Paul II for guidance as he ponders a decision on whether to allow federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, he could not have asked for a clearer message than the one delivered July 23.

WASHINGTON (BP)--The National Institutes of Health says more research is needed to find out "which stem cells - those derived from the embryo, the fetus, or the adult" -- will work best in treating various diseases, CNSNews.com reported July 18.

WASHINGTON (BP)--U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, a pro-life Republican ally of President Bush, endorsed federal funding for embryonic stem cell research July 18.

DEERFIELD, Ill. (BP)--Words are powerful tools. They can be used as a shield or a weapon.

      WASHINGTON (BP)--Recent reports of scientists creating human embryos or attempting to clone embryos solely for research with their stem cells, thereby destroying the early unborn babies, has stirred widespread condemnation from pro-life advocates.
      The revelations of such controversial work came on successive days. The Washington Post reported in its July 11 and 12 issues, respectively:
      -- Researchers at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Va., have taken stem cells from embryos created by in vitro fertilization for experimentation. In doing so, the scientists became the first in the world to procure such cells from embryos created exclusively for research purposes, according to The Post.

WASHINGTON (BP)--There is good news and there is bad news. First, the bad news. Confirming what we knew all along, scientists at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Virginia, do not think it is sufficient to do research on human embryos that are "going to die anyway," to follow the popular mantra. They announced 11 July 2001 that they intentionally created human embryos from donor eggs and sperm with the sole purpose of conducting destructive research on those nascent humans.