There is finally!!! agreement in the Senate to take up legislation to loosen federal restrictions on stem cell research. Under a plan proposed by Majority Leader Bill Frist, the Senate will debate three bills: one identical to H.R. 810, which allows federal funding on stem cells from embryos that would otherwise be discarded; another proposed by Senators Specter and Santorum which “encourages the National Institutes of Health to finance work that might someday allow scientists to produce cells equivalent to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos”; the third, offered by Senator Brownback, would “make it a crime for anyone to trade in tissues from fetuses that were conceived and aborted expressly for research purposes.”
Each portion of the package would need sixty votes (which all of them are likely to attain without a problem). The three together will be debated for twelve hours on a date in July yet-to-be-determined. No amendments will be allowed. This was reportedly a very tough unanimous consent agreement to reach, as Senator Coburn withheld his consent through much of the negotiating process.
The president has threatened to veto the H.R. 810 portion of this package, and a spokesman reiterated that threat yesterday. Seems like an unwise move to me. Nonetheless, this agreement is excellent news, and has been a long time in coming.