Aggregated News
Senate leaders from both parties agreed yesterday to schedule a vote on a package of bills that would loosen President Bush's five-year-old restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.
With head counts suggesting there are enough votes to pass the legislation and with Bush having promised he would veto it, yesterday's action sets the stage for what could be the first full-blown showdown between the chamber and the president.
The package, which includes language identical to that passed by the House, would allow federal funding of research on embryos that have been slated for destruction at fertility clinics. Those days-old embryos are rich in embryonic stem cells, which scientists say have great potential to treat a wide variety of ailments, including spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
But the destruction of human embryos for research is opposed by many, including Bush, who has called them "society's most vulnerable members." Late yesterday the White House reiterated that view.
"The president does not believe we are forced to choose between science and ethics," said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius, adding that...
With head counts suggesting there are enough votes to pass the legislation and with Bush having promised he would veto it, yesterday's action sets the stage for what could be the first full-blown showdown between the chamber and the president.
The package, which includes language identical to that passed by the House, would allow federal funding of research on embryos that have been slated for destruction at fertility clinics. Those days-old embryos are rich in embryonic stem cells, which scientists say have great potential to treat a wide variety of ailments, including spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
But the destruction of human embryos for research is opposed by many, including Bush, who has called them "society's most vulnerable members." Late yesterday the White House reiterated that view.
"The president does not believe we are forced to choose between science and ethics," said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius, adding that...