William Fisher

NEW YORK, Aug 8 2005 (IPS) — U.S. Pres. George W. Bush’s endorsement of the teaching of "intelligent design" as a theory of how the universe began, coupled with Sen. Bill Frist’s backing of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, points to an almost certain trainwreck between Congress and the White House – as well as open warfare between the scientific community and members of the conservative religious right.

Last week, Bush joined many of his conservative Christian supporters in their campaign to give "intelligent design" – i.e. creationism – equal treatment with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Earlier the same week, speaking on the floor of the Senate, Republican Majority Leader Frist – who is a cardiac surgeon – put the president on notice that he could no longer support Bush’s opposition to funding research using cells from embryos created in vitro, but destined to be discarded as "hospital waste".

He proposed that these cells be used for federally-funded research, with the consent of the parents, if they were destined for destruction. He suggested that further research using these cells could lead to therapies for a wide range of diseases for which there are currently no effective treatments.

Bush has said, "There is no such thing as a spare embryo."

In his 2004 State of the Union message to Congress, Pres. Bush said the government would proceed with embryonic stem cell research using what he claimed were approximately 60 existing stem cells lines whose embryos had already been destroyed.

But this number was evidently overstated; it has been since been reduced to 22, and Frist said many of these lines are useless or rapidly deteriorating.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would place the federal government squarely in the embryonic stem cell funding arena – and squarely in opposition to the head of their own party.

There is a similar consensus in the Senate, where the push for more embryonic stem cell research has the support of Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, who has been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. The principal opposition is coming from Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.

It is likely that the House bill will also pass the Senate. Because the president’s position is not considered subject to compromise, passage of the legislation in both houses would leave him few options short of a veto of the legislation.

It is still unclear whether the legislative branch would have the two-thirds – 60 votes – margin required to override the president’s veto, though proponents of the measure have been saying they already have some 55 votes.

An override led by the president’s own party would be a major defeat for the administration, and would doubtless anger his right-wing religious base. And those supporters would be equally incensed by the rejection of "intelligent design".

The president said the concept should be taught "so people can understand what the debate is about." While not saying whether he accepted "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution, he said, "I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," adding that "you’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes."

The debate over "intelligent design" pits the president’s conservative Christian supporters squarely against virtually all scientists, as well as those who advocate the separation of church and state.

Where Majority Leader Frist stands on the creationism debate is not known. But Frist is widely reported to be seeking his party’s presidential nomination for the 2008 election and has been actively courting right-wing Christian fundamentalists, many of whom expressed outrage at his stand on stem cell research.

Intelligent design, the idea of a group of academics, intellectuals and some who believe in biblical creationism, disagrees that natural selection – the process that Charles Darwin identified as the engine of evolution – explains the complexity of life. They believe that life is so intricate that only an "intelligent designer" could have created it.

Critics say the theory is unscientific propaganda, arguing for the existence of God and the divine creation of the universe. They claim evolution is not a theory, but an established body of scientific fact. . Over the past several years, pushed by religious conservatives, the theory has gained support in school districts in 20 states, with Kansas in the lead.

The Discovery Institute, the nation’s leading supporter of intelligent design, applauded Bush’s comments. "Pres. Bush is to be commended for defending free speech on evolution and supporting the right of students to hear about different scientific views about evolution," said John West, associate director of the institute’s Centre for Science and Culture.

"The National Council for Science Education (NCSE), "the nation’s leading Darwin-only lobby, has engaged in a pattern of character attacks and distortions in the media – and largely gotten away with it," said Seth L. Cooper, spokesman for the Discovery Institute.

But one of the key pro-Darwin groups, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), refused to send representatives to a recent series of public hearings on the use of intelligent design in public schools sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education.

AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner described the hearings as an effort by faith-based proponents of "intelligent design theory to attack and undermine science."

Leshner told IPS, "There is no science base to the so-called theory of intelligent design, and it would not withstand any scientific criteria for even being called a theory. In science, a theory is not a "belief" – we don’t believe or disbelieve a theory. We accept or reject theories based on scientific tests of them. Intelligent design is not a scientifically testable concept and therefore should not be taught in science classes."

The intelligent design controversy also focuses attention on the issue of separation of church and state. Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of the advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the president’s comments uninformed, reckless and irresponsible.

"The young people of America are ill served by a president who confuses religion with science," Lynn said. "Bush has used his presidential pulpit to advance the ludicrous notion that evolution is in controversy and that ‘intelligent design’ is legitimate scienceà(This will) undermine the teaching of sound science in the nation’s public schools."