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Stem Cell Bills Approved by Congress; President Issues Veto

On July 18, the Senate approved three bills related to stem cell research. The same day, the House approved one of the measures and failed to pass another under a rule that required a supermajority for approval. On July 19, the President vetoed H.R. 810, and the House failed to override the veto.

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810), sponsored by Reps. Michael Castle (R-DE) and Diana DeGette (D-CO), was approved, 63-37. The bill would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to use federal funding to conduct and support human embryonic stem cell research. Currently, federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is limited to cells derived on or before August 9, 2001. The bill was approved by the House on May 24, 2005 (see The Source, 5/27/05).

President Bush vetoed the bill on July 19, saying, “This bill would support the taking of innocent human life with the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our society needs to respect.” The same day, the House failed, 235-193, to override President Bush’s veto, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

Under the bill, embryonic stem cells could be used for research if they met the following conditions:

  • the stem cells were derived from human embryos that have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, were created for the purposes of fertility treatment, and were in excess of the clinical need of the individuals seeking such treatment;
  • prior to consideration of embryo donation, and through consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment, it was determined that the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and
  • the individuals seeking fertility treatment donated the embryos with written informed consent and without receiving financial or other incentives to make the donation.Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, “I believe that all scientifically credible and ethically sound avenues of stem cell research ought to be pursued. I might add that when we passed the cord blood legislation, that form of research had already yielded tangible results for several types of diseases, such as some forms of bone marrow cancer. In sharp contrast, whatever benefits the alternative bill may yield, experts tell us that they are largely unrealized today and, as is often the case with cutting edge science, uncertain in the future. But that is the way science works. Advances in science often progress in fits and starts. Sometimes, actually most of the time, particular avenues of research are found to be blind alleys and advances do not come…Let us be clear that the centerpiece of today’s debate is H.R. 810. This is the bill that will help provide the long overdue expansion of the number of stem cell lines eligible for federally funded biomedical research.”

    Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) said he opposed the bill on two grounds: “First of all, because one of my solemn duties in the Senate, I believe, is to protect and defend all human life–every case of human life, the beauty, the sanctity, and the importance of the individual which God has created. Secondly, I do this in particular focusing on the fact that we are talking about the use of taxpayer dollars. We are not merely talking about what is allowed and disallowed. We are talking about the use of taxpayer dollars for specific purposes, when some of these types of research are so utterly controversial in terms of the impact on individual human lives…I urge all of our Senate colleagues to join me and others in supporting those two bills about ethical alternatives but in opposing this underlying bill, H.R. 810, because it would involve the destruction of individual, precious embryos, human life.”

    Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act

    The Senate also approved, 100-0, S. 2754, the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), would promote research on obtaining stem cells from sources other than human embryos. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies held a hearing on the bill on June 27 (see The Source, 6/30/06).

    During debate on S. 2754, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who supported all three stem cell-related bills, expressed his doubts that research using adult stem cells would prove as fruitful as that conducted with embryonic stem cells. He stated, “We have heard that adult stem cells have conquered disease after disease and therefore our legislation is not needed, but the facts tell a different story. The nation’s leading scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recently published an extensive study that disputes these claims. Contrary to the allegation of opponents of our bill, adult stem cells have not treated Parkinson’s disease, cancer, lymphoma, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, lupus, sickle cell anemia, heart damage, spinal cord injuries, and many other conditions…In fact, out of the hundreds of diseases and injuries that our legislation might address, only nine have shown promise for treatment with adult stem cells. Let’s hope that in time this situation changes. If adult stem cells can cure cancer or Parkinson’s disease or spinal injury in the future, we will all — all rejoice.”

    Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) supported the measure, saying, “One year ago, the President’s Council on Bioethics issued a report entitled, ‘Alternative Sources of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.’ This report outlined four proposals for obtaining pluripotent stem cells — those with the same properties and potential as embryonic stem cells — using techniques that do not involve the destruction of human embryos. In the year since that report, major advances in each of these approaches have been documented in peer-reviewed research articles published in leading scientific journals…It is important to recognize that this alternatives bill…could encourage advances in stem cell biology unlike any current law or pending legislative approach. And it could do so in a way that would sustain moral and social consensus for full federal funding of this research…I should add that the promise of the alternatives is speculative, but so is the promise of the research which would destroy human life.”

    The same day, the House fell short of the two-thirds vote needed to suspend the rules and pass the bill; the vote was 273-154. Following the bill’s defeat, the House Rules Committee met and approved a rule that would allow the bill to be passed by a simple majority vote; however, Congress is not expected to revisit the measure this year.

    Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006

    The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006 (S. 3504) was approved, 100-0. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Santorum, would prohibit research on human embryos gestated in a non-human uterus, or from pregnancies specifically created for the purpose of embryonic stem cell research.

    The House approved the measure, 425-0, on July 18, under suspension of the rules.

    President Bush signed S. 3504 into law on July 19 (P.L. 109-242).