In a largely symbolic victory for biomedical research, the Senate yesterday (July 18) approved a controversial bill (HR
810)
to extend Federal research funding to newly derived human embryonic
stem cells (hESC). President Bush, who opposes the expansion of funding
on ethical grounds, has reaffirmed his promise to veto this
legislation, possibly as early as today.
"It would be a real shame for the President to issue his first veto
against a bill that provides so much hope for so many people," said
Sean Tipton, vice president of the Coalition for the Advancement of
Medical Research (CAMR). "But if so, we're not done. This issue is not
going away," he told
The Scientist.
After 12 hours of debate that began Monday afternoon, the "
Stem
Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005" passed the Senate with
bipartisan support by
63-37, four votes shy of the two-thirds necessary
to over-ride a veto. Because the bill originated in the House it will
be sent there first following Bush's veto for an over-ride attempt,
which is likely to fail given the margin by which it originally passed
last year. This means the bill will be dead for the year even if there
had been enough over-ride votes in the Senate.
"The President is not going to get on the slippery slope of taking
something that is living and making it dead for the purpose of
research," White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters
yesterday. The President's veto, he added, "will be pretty swift."
"We are very pleased with the Senate vote," said Leo Furcht,
president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology (
FASEB).
"This is a case where one would think the will of public opinion will
prevail, but [Bush's] statements indicate he will take actions to the
contrary, which is unfortunate," Furcht told
The Scientist.
The Senate also
unanimously approved two less-contentious bills that the president supports. The "
Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act,"
passed 100-0, directs the National Institutes of Health to support ways
of deriving hESC without destroying human embryos -- something NIH
already does. The "
Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006," also passed 100-0, would prohibit trafficking human fetal tissue "gestated for research purposes."
The House later yesterday voted to expedite approval of the fetal
farming bill 425-0, but unexpectedly failed to win the two-thirds votes
needed to expedite passage of the alternative therapies bill, in a
273-154 vote. Bush is expected to sign the fetal farming bill into law
and veto the main stem cell expansion bill this week, possibly as early
as today. The House may take up the alternative therapies bill later
this week.
The stem cell expansion bill would open Federal research funding to
hESC lines regardless of when they were derived. Current Federal
funding is
limited to an
approved list of stem cell lines that were derived from surplus embryos created for
in vitro fertilization
before Aug. 9, 2001 -- the date Bush announced the policy, making federal hESC research funding available for the first time.
Over the past two days, both Democrats and Republicans took to the
podium and told stories of illnesses, often personal and emotional. "I
lost a beautiful young daughter some years ago to heart disease," said
Sen. Byron Dorgan, (D-N.D.). "I wondered then, and I wonder now, and I
will wonder for some long while, if there is anything that we could do
to unlock the mystery of that devastating killer," he said, urging
support for the expansion bill.
"It is safe to say that no scientific issue is more divisive today
than this discussion surrounding stem cells," said Senate Majority
leader Bill Frist (R- Tenn.), who spent months
brokering
the debate and votes. Frist, a physician and possible presidential
contender in 2008, reversed his position last year to support
additional Federal hESC funding. "I think the limit on cell lines
available for federally funded research is too restrictive," Frist said
Monday, kicking off the marathon debate on the Senate floor.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), a leading supporter of the expansion
bill, compared opposition to hESC research to the criticism leveled
against Galileo and Columbus. "A century from now, people will look
back at this debate on stem cell research and wonder how we cannot
possibly utilize all of the benefits of science to stop people from
dying, to stop people from suffering, when we have these embryos which
are either going to be thrown away or used," Specter said during the
debate.
"Do we use taxpayer dollars, Federal taxpayer dollars, to destroy
young human life for research purposes?" countered Sen. Sam Brownback
(R-Kan.), who appeared with three children adopted by way of
in vitro
fertilization clinics. "If we had taken the half a billion dollars,
$500 million, that we have invested in embryonic stem cell research in
animals and humans, and invested that instead in adult stem cell
research and cord blood research, we would probably have a lot more
people in clinical trials today."
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), a physician who opposes hESC
research, said problems relating to tissue rejection will complicate
development of useful therapies. "Every disease save ALS has an adult
stem cell or cord blood stem cell cure that has already been proven in
humans," he said, arguing against the expansion bill.
Democrats say they hope the stem cell issue will assume greater
prominence in tight congressional election races later this year, as
Republicans strive to hold onto majorities in both houses.
Commentary on the debate even extended overseas. Martin Rees, president of the The Royal Society, said in a
statement
yesterday that "millions of patients across the world could suffer" if
Bush vetoes the bill. Limiting hESC funding to current U.S. policy
"would surely mean that the United States will continue to fall behind
in this important and exciting area," Rees said.
but of course,
PRESIDENT BUSH decides to VETO.
grr.
