[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Elizabeth Edwards, wife to the Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, came to Madison Monday to tour the Waisman Center, a University of Wisconsin facility where the former attorney witnessed some of stem-cell research’s progress.

Edwards visited the facility before a campaign stop in Eau Claire to educate herself on the issue of stem-cell research, stressing she did not come for partisan reasons.

“I’m not here for political [purposes],” Edwards said, adding that furthering stem-cell research and its federal funding should be a humanistic argument and not clouded with individual biases. “Further delay [of federal funding for stem-cell research] is perhaps almost immoral.”

Edwards also said she was there to see how the research community “accomplishes everything that must get accomplished.”

“What else do I need to know?” Edwards asked an assembled group of scientists and UW administrators. “What [do] we need to talk about and how do we need to talk about it?”

She commented during her visit that a problem with extending federal-funding rights remains the issue of limited financing to begin with.

Though Edwards said she came to tour the Waisman Center’s laboratories for non-partisan and informative purposes, some may view the visit as politically motivated. The issue of federally funded stem-cell research has been hotly contested since its inception in August 2001, when President Bush issued an executive order restricting funding to any stem-cell lines produced after that date. Before this time, no federal grants were issued to any research university or firm. The order also permits privately funded efforts to continue.

Opponents of the president claim he did not go far enough and new stem-cell lines should be funded to faster gather data and disseminate findings to peer research facilities. They argue that the restricted funding slows down the path for treatments. Conversely, supporters of the president, such as Republican Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Chris Lato, believe stem cells available at this time are adequately funded through federal grants, mostly from the National Institute of Health. Lato cited the contentious tightrope Bush has had to walk, stabilizing the needs of science and the principles of many Americans.

“This president has had to balance the ethical and moral solutions [of the stem-cell issue],” Lato said. “This is not a president who wants to prevent cures.”

Lato also disputed Edwards’ claim of impartiality, saying she was acting as a part of the Kerry-Edwards ticket, adding the president might change his position on stem-cell funding as time goes by.

“I don’t know who she thinks she’s kidding … Of course it’s a political stop,” Lato said.

Edwards touched on former President Bill Clinton’s role in the development of guidelines to distribute federal funding to an increasing base of stem-cell lines, guidelines that never came into fruition.

In a phone interview, Edwards called on President Bush’s stern opposition to changing his stance on a variety of issues.

“The president, so far, does not seem to be very [malleable] to changing his mind based on new evidence on any subject. I would like to think that he would, but we don’t have any indication that that’s his way of doing business.”