Scott McClellan

“ I want to also make an announcement that the President's counselor, Karen Hughes, will be doing a briefing tomorrow for the press corps at 11:00 a.m., where she will also be providing a tick-tock of how the President reached this decision and talking in more detail about that decision.
With that, I'm happy to take some questions and talk about this a little bit further.
Q During the transition you said, the President-elect's position is clear; he opposes federal funds for research that involves destroying living human embryos. ”

“ This is a decision -- and I, personally, have been in meetings with the President where he was visiting with people on other issues, and the President brought this matter up and asked what their opinion was, as well as told them that he realized the seriousness of this issue and how this issue is going to have far-reaching implications 20 to 30 years down the road. Q Scott, during the campaign, starting way back in the primaries and right through the general campaign, the President was very clear, no embryonic stem cell research. ”

“ And as we explore the science, we need to make sure that we do so in a way that adheres to the highest ethical standards. Q -- as the President studied this and learned about this, he, himself felt it became more complex? ”