For a second straight year, controversial legislation expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research appeared on track for approval by both chambers of Congress.
However, President Bush, who last year issued the first veto of his presidency, of a similar bill, vowed to do the same should it reach his desk this year.
The measure, which eases restrictions on the amount of federal funding and the number of stem cell lines that the president imposed in 2001, cleared the House on a vote of 253-to-174, as part of the new Democratic majority's first 100-hour agenda of the new 110th Congress.
Thirty-seven Republicans joined the Democratic majority in approving the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. It would allow federal funding on research of stem cells from embryos slated for destruction at fertility clinics.
Under existing policy, federal funding is limited to stem cells taken from embryos destroyed by August 2001, which reflects nearly 21 of the nearly 400 stem cell colonies created since 1998. Privately-funded embryonic stem cell research is legal and ongoing in the U.S.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell research note that the stem cells in question have the potential to become any tissue in the body. As such, they say it lends hope to finding treatments and cures for a host of illnesses such as juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries.
However, embryonic stem cell opponents point out that such research involves the destruction of nascent human life, and has yet to yield any medical treatments or cures. At the same time, they point out that the extraction of stem cells from non-embryonic sources–such as umbilical cord blood, placentas, fat and bone marrow–has produced treatments for at least 72 ailments, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell anemia and spinal cord injuries.
On the day of the House vote, the Bush administration issued a policy statement against the legislation.
"H.R.3 advanced the proposition that the nation must choose between science and ethics. The administration believes it is possible to advance scientific research without violating ethical principles–by enacting appropriate policy safeguards and pursuing thoughtful scientific techniques. H.R.3 is seriously flawed legislation that would undo essential ethical protections, and slow the development of new techniques that avoid bio-ethical concerns.
Over the past six years, more than $130 million in taxpayer dollars has been devoted to human embryonic stem cell research consistent with the president's policy. Overall, nearly $3 billion has gone to innovative research on all forms of stem cells, contributing to dozens of proven medical treatments. However, this bill would provide federal funding for the first time for a line of research that involves the intentional destruction of living human embryos for the derivation of their cells. Destroying nascent human life for research raises serious ethical problems, and millions of Americans consider the practice immoral."
That view was shared by many in the pro-life and pro-family community.
Carrie Earll is a senior analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "This vote is an example of politics trumping both morality and science. It's never morally acceptable to destroy human life in research. In the history of medical experiments, some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best of intentions.
If a medical experiment purposefully threatens or destroys a human life, something is wrong with the experiment. In a civilized society, we must demand more. And thankfully, in the case of stem cell research, we have ethical alternatives that are just as good–perhaps better–than the unethical ones.
The House members who voted to repeal the current federal funding policy should ask bill sponsors to show them the evidence to back up their claim that destroying embryos is essential to find cures," Earll said.
American Life League President, Judie Brown, called the House measure a "dreadful" piece of legislation. "The continual misinformation about human embryonic stem cell research offered by those who wish to encourage such ‘science' does not change the fact that terminating the lives of innocent human embryos for research is ethically and morally corrupt.
Americans must speak up now to put a halt to this sanctioned killing. We can never build a true culture of life when we allow the most vulnerable and innocent of our society to be sacrificed," Brown said.
Family Research Council President, Tony Perkins, called it an "unethical" bill. "Rather than defend human dignity, the Democrat-led House of Representatives approved legislation to compel U.S. taxpayers to fund research that requires the destruction of human embryos. The president is absolutely right to veto this legislation.
This bill is a ‘Bait-and-Switch.' It would not just fund so-called ‘leftover' embryos, it will create a market for creating and cloning more human embryos for the express purpose of killing them.
The bill also diverts crucial funding away from uncontroversial adult stem cell research and other cutting-edge research, which is producing real treatments for real people," Perkins said.
Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman of Traditional Values Coalition, said H.R.3 would "normalize the killing of human embryos" for their stem cells.
"The use of human embryos for their stem cells is unethical, and crosses a moral line that will inevitably be used to justify the cloning of humans–or the creation of human embryos specifically to harvest their parts. Significant progress is being made in the field of regenerative medicine–which uses the body's own cells to regenerate damaged tissue," Sheldon said.
However, the National Institutes of Health official who oversees the president's existing embryonic stem cell policy, suggested in a recent Senate panel hearing that the White House restrictions on such research is delaying cures.
When asked how the policy was affecting medical research, Story Landis, director of the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and interim chairman of the agency's stem cell task force, said, "We are missing out on possible breakthroughs."
Landis added that "science works best when scientists can pursue all avenues of research. If the cure for Parkinson's disease or juvenile diabetes lay behind one of four doors, wouldn't you want the option to open all four doors at once instead of one door?"
National Organization for Women President, Kim Gandy, called embryonic stem cell research a "woman's issue." "Women undergoing fertility treatment deserve the right to donate their leftover embryos for research. These frozen embryos–destined to be discarded–could potentially treat and cure a number of debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Women can surely benefit from this research to improve their health and save their lives, but they are also primary caretakers for family members and loved ones who suffer from illnesses and injuries. The development of stem cell technology and cures could help ease the burden of those women," Gandy stated.
The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, in a statement, said, embryonic stem cell research holds "unprecedented hope."
"Millions of people suffer from diseases and injuries that could be treated if we have adequate research to develop new therapies. As people of faith, we have deep respect for human life. We believe, as do most authorities and commissions that have addressed the issue, that human embryos have the potential of personhood -- and, as such, they deserve respect. But excess embryos slated for destruction must not be placed above persons whose pain and suffering might be alleviated due to the knowledge gained from studying embryonic cells.
Placing obstacles in the way of life-saving research with embryonic stem cells that are already created and will be destroyed is misguided. In the case of existing embryos that will be destroyed, providing adequate federal funding for research is, in our view, fully consistent with respect for human life."
Just days before the House vote, scientists at Wake Forest and Harvard universities announced the discovery of stem cells in amniotic fluid, which share traits similar to stem cells obtained from human embryos. The researchers said, the process of extracting some amniotic fluid poses no threat to either the fetus or the mother.
Concerned Women for America President, Wendy Wright, said that this breakthrough precludes the need for further research on embryonic stem cells.
"The benefits patients seek from stem cells are available without destroying human embryos. This latest research on amniotic cells is further evidence that we don't need to kill one life in order to save another. Amniotic cells are proven to be as effective as embryonic stem cells, without posing embryonic stem cells' ethical dilemmas or threatening risks to patients of causing tumors. Scientific research proves that the moral choice is also the healthiest and most effective way to find cures," Wright said.
Also, Christian Medical Association CEO, Dr. David Stevens, urged Congress to devote more funding to "promising ethical stem cell research." "We have long known that, unlike human embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have been proven effective in treating patients in cases involving dozens of diseases. And now we know that stem cells derived from amniotic fluid appear to hold the same tissue-building potential once thought exclusive to human embryonic stem cells," Stevens said.
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