Yesterday, I posted the Associated Press report that Senators Bill Frist and Rick Santorum were considering supporting a bill that would give additional funding towards an alternative form of embryonic stem cell research.

Unfortunately, the AP report was quite vague about this “alternative,” so I placed calls to both Senators. Both offices told me they did not have the information on hand but would find the material, which they acknowledges possessing, and forward it to me.

Senator Frist’s office never got back to me. But late yesterday I received a call back from Senator Santorum’s office. I don’t know if the irony was intended, but they suggested I get in touch with Bill Frist’s people. Unfortunately, I was told, “they” are holding the information “very tightly” for now.

That lack of information raises a number of questions. Most prominently in my mind asks if this alternative form of research has all the supposed benefits of embryonic stem cell research without destroying embryos, then wouldn’t it be something worth talking about? Isn’t it something both Senators would want to bring attention to?