Intellectual Property Law

Sarah Palin raised eyebrows Wednesday when she told the evangelical leader and broadcaster James Dobson that John McCain agrees with the Republican party platform, which states the party's opposition to embryonic stem cell research, among other things.

As Marc Ambinder over at The Atlantic noted, Dobson had asked Palin whether it was her impression that McCain supported the views expressed in the platform, and whether she thought he would implement them. 

"I do, from the the bottom of my heart," Palin said. "I am such a strong believer that McCain believes in those strong planks and we do have good conversations about some of the details too, about the different planks and what they represent."

Palin opposes federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The Republican party platform, adopted during its September convention, does too. The party prefers scientists to work with stem cells derived from other sources.

"We call for a major expansion of support for the stem cell research that now shows amazing promise and offers the greatest hope for scores of diseases ? with adult stem cells, umbilical cord blood and cells reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells ? without the destruction of embryonic human life," reads the Republican party's policy statement. "We call for a ban on human cloning and a ban on the creation of or experimentation on human embryos for research purposes."

But McCain has stated his support for embryonic stem cell research, and has made it a campaign issue by running radio ads in battleground states with lots of independent voters. Barack Obama's campaign has also run ads telling voters erroneously, as FactCheck.org notes, that McCain opposes stem cell research.

Palin's statement to Dobson on Wednesday is important because it raises the question of whether McCain, as the scientific community fears, might reverse his stance once in office.

A trio of Nobel Laureates who endorsed Obama September said at the time that they felt that they couldn't trust McCain's positions because of political pressure from religious conservatives.

But McCain's going to be the decider once in office, said campaign spokesman Michael Goldfarb.

"John McCain's been very clear on his position on stem cells, and Sarah Palin's been very clear on her position on stem cells. Sarah Palin has made it clear that as vice president, she would not implement her own personal views, but John McCain's," he said.   

(Photo: Associated Press/Gerald Herbert)