During a Monday stop at the State Fair, Congressman Leonard Boswell highlighted his support for an expansion of federally-funded stem cell research. Boswell, a Democrat from Des Moines, went to the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Fair booth and signed a petition in support of using more human embryonic stem cells in federally-financed medical research.
“Scientists, the research community…think they’re just on the brink,” Boswell says. It’s the second time this summer Boswell has held a media event to focus on the issue. President Bush in July argued that using embryos for medical research “crosses a moral boundary” and destroys an early form of human life.
Bush vetoed a bill that would have expanded federally-funded stem cell research. “The guy that’s challenging me says he would support the president on voting it,” Boswell says. “I just don’t understand it.” According to a spokesman, Jeff Lamberti, Boswell’s Republican challenger, would have voted against the stem cell bill that Bush ultimately vetoed.