The Frist-Talent Stem Cell Split

While Majority Leader Bill Frist spent the day campaigning for Sen. Jim Talent, the two have different views on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Frist supports federal funding for research; Talent does not. Frist has called embryonic stem cells "uniquely necessary for treating diseases." He has said "limitations would slow ability to bring cures for diseases."

Talent has said adult stem cells have showed the most promise for cures. When asked about the stem cell split with Frist, Talent said, "I didn't think a whole lot about it."

Talent repeated his opposition to Amendment 2, a ballot initiative designed to protect multiple forms of stem cell research in the state constitution. "It creates a constitutional right to clone, which I don't support, but there are alternatives out there. I think on that issue Senator Frist and I would be in agreement."

He said he has supported $2 billion dollars for stem cell research, not including embryonic.

But Talent said he agreed with President Bush, that federally funding embryonic research "would be wrong." "I don't want to cross the line and for the first time find research that would involve the destruction of a human embryo," Talent said. "It's a separate issue as whether you support cloning as opposed to the federal issue. It's just a different issue," Talent said, hinting that Frist would oppose Missouri's amendment as well.

"I'm not going to get involved in the legislature agenda on the ballot," responded Frist when I asked him his position on Missouri's Amendment 2. "I am someone who does support stem cell research but I don't think you should be able to create living embryos and destroy them. I support adult and embryonic stem cell research but the embryonic research that stops short of creating living embryos and then killing those embryos to get stem cells."

Frist is referring to doing research on existing embryos, which would still have to be destroyed to extract stem cells.

Talent said he was more in line with Frist on being against creating embryos to kill them, but differed with Frist on the federal funding issue. Overall, Talent takes the harder line.

"On the federal issue, he (Frist) has supported funding for that," Talent said. "I don't want to cross the line and get into something that requires the destruction of a human embryo."

Frist kept coming back to where he agreed with Talent. "I believe that the embryo is living tissue. It's biologically human. You were an embryo and I don't believe we should be destroying them for research purposes," Frist said.

It's a thin stem cell line for the Republicans to walk on a complicated issue for voters to comprehend.