MARINA DEL REY, CA--President Bush's recent decision to limit embryonic stem cell research is "not a compromise; it is a near-total capitulation to the enemies of biotechnology," said Robert Tracinski, a columnist for Creators Syndicate and a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute.
       "The Bush proposal," said Tracinski, "is the equivalent of telling astronomers that they can make calculations based on previous observations of the stars, but that they have to dismantle their telescopes and refrain from making new observations. Such restrictions are designed to suffocate a whole field of knowledge by depriving it of new material for future research."
       As further evidence of Bush's capitulation, Tracinski cited Bush's creation of a presidential council to monitor and regulate stem cell research, with "biomedical ethicist" Leon Kass as chairman. Kass is openly hostile to genetic research and has even spoken out against in-vitro fertilization, the decades-old technology used to help infertile couples have children. "As the president's biotechnology czar, Kass will seek to regulate stem cell research out of existence," said Tracinski.
       "President Bush is right when he says that this issue is 'the leading edge of a series of moral hazards,'" said Tracinski. "The primary hazard, however, is his attempt to halt the advancement of scientific knowledge that could improve human life."
 
Ayn Rand Institute senior writer Robert Tracinski is available for interviews.