[Embryonic] Stem cell research supporters offer U.S. Senate bill [Specter/Hatch+Democrats]

Reuters ^ | 2009-02-28 | Maggie Fox

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two prominent supporters of stem cell research said on Thursday they had reintroduced a Senate bill that would allow federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, in anticipation of President Barack Obama's support for the work.

Senators Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, and Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said their bipartisan measure would allow federal funding for research using stem cells taken from human embryos left over from fertility treatments.

"It is the same bill that both houses of Congress approved in 2007, but was vetoed by President Bush," they said in a statement.

Obama has promised to overturn Bush's policy that strictly limited the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

Many groups that support embryonic stem cell research have been eagerly waiting for him to do so, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has hinted that Obama would prefer to wait and do something in concert with Congress.

"For too long, political interference has delayed research that holds the promise for millions of Americans who suffer from a wide range of diseases," Harkin said in a statement.

"President Obama has promised to lift the restrictions on embryonic stem cell research that were put in place by President Bush, and I hope and expect that he will do so soon, but we have to make sure that the freedom to pursue this research is also protected by federal law, not merely by an executive order that can be reversed during a future administration."

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S. 487, 111th Congress, First Session: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research.
Sponsor: Harkin, Tom (D-IA)
Cosponsors: Hatch (R-UT); Kennedy (D-MA); Feinstein (D-CA); Specter (R-PA); Reid (D-NV)

[GBA]

Fire those SOBs Hatch and Specter! What a worthless, satanic party the republicans have become.

[Salvation]

Hatch should know better and all the Catholics should too. Adult stem cells are much more proficient than embyonic.

Their consituents need to FReepmail them!

[batter]

Hatch is useless (unless you’re a liberal).

[Jumpmaster]

TATBO!

[batter]

So far, Utah is too apathetic to do so. I have no idea what it will take to get a fire under people’s butts around here so they’ll, at least, look at what their Senators are doing.

[ari-freedom]

It's made of people!

[Venturer]

These people arent my Republicans.

I can call them names all day and it wont do any good, we are screwed folks. Until it gets so bad a real revolution starts we are done for.

[silverleaf]

wow, I didn’ realize Mormons were OK with ripping apart embryos.

[Lou Budvis]

Guess they missed the news in Nature about the great progress being made in using skin cells.

[Vaduz]

“Using stem cells taken from human embryos left over from fertility treatments” TREATMENTS? kind of like one of Hitlers people making lamp shades of human skin AFTER TREATMENT.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Please. You’re going too far. I am a proud Republican and I am not godless and neither are most Republicans.

[GBA]

Perhaps I was a bit harsh, but there are certainly (little r) republicans who do things to support that observation. So, fire Hatch and send Specter back to the demonrat party he left to become a Republican. They and other rinos and moderates are diluting the Republican claims to social and fiscal conservatism and keeping conservatives independents like me from rejoining the party and/or donating.