Did the Democratic Congress actually score a small victory over President Bush on Wednesday by lifting a key restriction on federal funding of stem cell research?
By a 63-34 vote, the Senate approved legislation to eliminate the nearly 6 year old federal funding restrictions on stem cells that were put in place by President Bush. However, many analysts feel that Congress will still not be able to come up with that one vote needed to override the President's promise to veto any federal stem cell funding legislation.
44 Democrats were joined by the 2 independents in the Senate along with 17 Republicans in voting for this very popular piece of legislation.
When the Democrats took control of the Senate last year, the Democrats vowed to lift the restriction on federal funding for stem cell research. But for now, it appears this very hot issue will be carried over to the general election voting in 2008.
Backers of stem cell research believe this type of research is necessary in finding cures for diseases such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. On the other side, those against stem cell research point to the fact that stem cell research requires the destruction of one-day old embryos, and the opponents feel this is just another type of abortion.
None the less, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, hopes that President Bush will change his mind about vetoing legislation on federal funding of stem cell research. Sen.Harkin points out that roughly 400,000 unwanted embryos are in fertility clinics across America, and that all the proponents of stem cell research are asking is that instead of throwing these embryos away; why not allow these unwanted embryos be put to good use by using them in research.
Even though President Bush said he was going to veto this particular piece of stem cell legislation, President Bush did indicate he would be willing to sign into law a alternative stem cell bill that was passed 70-28 by the Senate which had strong Republican support.
The measure President Bush is looking to sign encourages research on certain types of stem cells, but this alternative stem cell bill still does not go past the 2001 restrictions. Critics are calling this bill a sham, but proponents still feel this bill would be better than nothing. Proponents also think this alternative bill is a step forward, albeit a small step.
The bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday would lift the federal funding restriction on stem cell research, but this bill would still prohibit the use of federal funding for creating embryos by cloning or other technology.
Backers of stem cell research do see a ray of hope for their cause. As Sen.Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, so succinctly put it, "President Bush is not going to be President forever."
Read more at Yahoo News
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment