Republican Sen. Bill Frist has wisely decided to schedule a vote on a package of bills that would ease restrictions on human embryonic stem-cell research. We hope to see them pass the Senate.
President Bush opposes the measure, which would allow federal funding of research on left-over embryos at fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded. He has promised to veto it, bowing to pro-life conservatives who persist in mistaking this scientific practice for abortion.
The House passed the measure in May 2005. It had been stalled in the Senate due to Bush’s opposition until Frist reportedly revived the measure at the urging of former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Mrs. Reagan believes research on stem cells could lead to cures for diseases that afflict millions of people, such as Alzheimer’s, which former President Ronald Reagan died in 2004 after suffering from the illness for more than a decade.
Frist has not set a date for bringing the three-bill package to the floor, saying only that it would be sometime before the October break. Some reports have suggested, however, that debate on the bills could come up as early as this month. Under an agreement by Senate leaders, all three bills would have to pass with at least 60 votes and no amendments.
Surveys show that most Americans support stem-cell research, which holds promise for treating illnesses from juvenile diabetes to Parkinson’s disease. The Senate is believed to have enough votes to pass the measure, possibly setting up the first veto of the Bush presidency. The House is unlikely to have the votes to override a veto.
Opponents liken the research to abortion because harvesting stem cells from a days-old embryo results in its death. Bush prefers the use of adult stem cells, which can be extracted from bone marrow, but scientists don’t believe those cells have the same potential as those from embryos.
Among the package of bills is one that encourages the National Institutes of Health to finance work that might someday allow scientists to produce cells equivalent to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. The third measure, called the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act, would make it a crime to trade in tissues from fetuses that were conceived and aborted for research.
Frist has moved judiciously to bring these measures to a vote, and we hope Colorado’s senators will support this research.
