US House backs stem cell funding

[Henk Elegeert]

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  US House backs stem cell funding

The US House of Representatives has voted to increase
government funding for embryonic stem cell research.

The vote sets up a confrontation with President Bush, who
has vowed to veto the bill if it passes the Senate.

The bill was passed by 238-194 votes - short of the
two-thirds majority required to override Mr Bush's veto.

The vote followed an emotional debate between those who say
the research is vital for medical progress, and those who
say it destroys human life.

The bill would allow scientists to use stem cells from
embryos created during in-vitro fertilisation programmes but
never implanted in a womb.

Researchers believe stem cells - which can transform
themselves into many other tissue types - hold the key to
finding cures for many diseases, including Parkinson's and
diabetes.


[Crossing this line would be a great mistake]

US President George Bush
In 2001, Mr Bush declared that federal funding would be
available only for research using existing stem cells -
meaning that none have been harvested since.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Congressman Mike Castle
and Democrat Diane De Gette, aims to overturn that ban.

During the debate, Republican Representative Charlie Bas
spoke for the bill's supporters, urging Congress to consider
the medical cures that might be discovered and the people
that would benefit.

"For America to stand back because of a moral principle and
not allow sound scientific research to proceed under the
umbrella of the National Institute of Health, I think, is
unconscionable," he said.

Broken ranks

Many Catholics and social conservatives in the US oppose the
destruction of embryos.

Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay said the bill would
mean taxpayers funding "the dismemberment of living,
distinct human beings".

But a number of conservative Republicans, who usually back
the pro-life lobby, broke with the party mainstream to
support the bill.
	
[STEM CELL MILESTONES
1960s: Research begins on stem cells taken from adult tissue
1968: Adult stem cells used to treat immune deficient patient
1998: US scientists grow stem cells from human embryos and
germ cells, establishing cell lines still in use today
2001: Embryonic stem cell turned into a blood cell
2004: South Korean scientists clone 30 human embryos and
develop them over several days
2005: Korean team develops stem cells tailored to match
individual patients]

Mr Bush, who has never used his power of veto, restated his
opposition to the bill before the vote.

"This bill would take us across a critical ethical line by
creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of
emerging human life," the president said.

"Crossing this line would be a great mistake."

No date has been set for a vote in the Senate, but the
Republican leader in the upper chamber, Bill Frist, is
coming under pressure from the bill's sponsors to allow a
debate soon.

A second bill which calls for extra funding for stem cell
research using umbilical cord blood, and which has
presidential backing, was passed by 431 votes to 1.

Scientists say these cells could provide tailor-made
treatment for a range of diseases and conditions.

But many experts believe both types of research are needed.

There is no law against private stem cell research, which is
moving ahead in states like California.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4576407.stm

Published: 2005/05/25 06:45:19 GMT

© BBC MMV
"

Onder de bijgeplaatste foto:

[Mr Bush met children who were adopted as frozen embryos}

Dat zal het (toch al lastige)debat goed doen.

HEnk Elegeert

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