Stem Cell Censorship Broken

Various program directors at the National Institutes of Health got to tell Congress yesterday that they oppose President Bush's restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Why are we just now finding out what they really think? Because they were finally unmuzzled by the demand from Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that "Your response should be submitted directly to the Subcommittee without editing, revision, or comment by the Department of Health & Human Services."

Interestingly, the Post notes:

Perhaps inadvertently, even NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni appeared to give away his personal feelings while testifying before the subcommittee.

"If they're going to be destroyed [anyway], where is the moral issue?" Specter asked Zerhouni, referring to the legislative proposal to allow funding of research on embryos destined to be discarded.

"I think you'll have to ask that from those who hold that view," Zerhouni replied.