Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act on the Floor Today
More than 100 million Americans suffer from cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other debilitating diseases and disorders for which embryonic stem cell research holds great promise in finding new and better treatments and cures. This bill expands the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research by lifting the restrictions on the embryonic stem cell lines that can be used for federally-funded research -- restrictions that were imposed by President Bush in 2001. Most of the stem cell lines authorized for federally-funded research under the President's policy are now no longer useful for research, making the enactment of S. 5 vital. According to the National Institutes of Health, of the 78 stem cell lines that were declared eligible for federal funding in the President's executive order of August 2001, only 21 lines are still available for researchers. Many of the remaining 21 stem cell lines are contaminated with "mouse feeder" cells, making their therapeutic use for humans uncertain. The bill only authorizes federal research funds for stem cell lines generated from embryos that would otherwise be discarded by fertility clinics and creates an ethical framework that must be followed in conducting this research under the guidance of the National Institutes of Health.
After passing the bill, the House will send it directly to the President's desk. Despite the fact that this bill is bipartisan and has the support of 72 percent of the American public, President Bush has threatened to veto it.
Rep. Diana DeGette, the author of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, on the bill:
| Rep DeGette: "I rise today to express frustration. Frustration that I share with millions of Americans around this country. Every day these millions of patients suffer from debilitating diseases and conditions. For many, embryonic stem cell research is the most promising source of research for treatments. Unfortunately because of the stubbornness of one man, President Bush, these people continue to suffer as they wait." |