Stanford Report, July 12, 2006

Cloudy forecast for stem cell bills

BY MICHELLE L. BRANDT

Although some legislative experts are encouraged by reports that the U.S. Senate is planning to schedule a vote later this month on three stem cell bills, one of which would loosen 5-year-old federal restrictions on the research, they caution that stem cell scientists at Stanford and elsewhere shouldn't get their hopes up for any immediate changes.

The centerpiece of the bill package is a version of House Resolution 810, which would allow scientists to use for their research spare embryos from fertility clinics. Current policy dictates that federal monies can fund only research using embryonic stem cell lines that existed as of August 2001. H.R. 810, which was passed by the House of Representatives last year, was designed to provide researchers with more resources and invigorate the field.

"Leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health have stated that access to new stem cell lines may well speed research," said Larry Soler, director of government relations for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which supports stem cell research. "Patient groups and scientists are interested in accelerating access to new therapies, and we believe this bill is an important way to do that."

But many conservatives, who equate the use of embryos for research with the destruction of life, are adamantly opposed to legislation that would expand embryonic stem cell research. In what appears to be an effort to appease this group, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., agreed to allow a vote on H.R. 810 only if two other measures were considered simultaneously.

One bill would encourage the NIH to finance research on ways to produce cells similar to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. The other would prohibit research on human embryos that were conceived and aborted specifically for the purpose for the research.

The three bills each need a supermajority of 60 votes to pass. While research advocates are optimistic that there are enough votes to pass H.R. 810, Bush is likely to block the bill from becoming law. In a meeting with the editorial board of the Denver Post on Monday, Bush's political advisor Karl Rove confirmed that Bush would cast his first presidential veto if the legislation is passed.

"If the legislation passes, it's extremely encouraging that the research advocacy community was able to convince a majority of Congress of the importance of this line of research and the need to modify current U.S. policy," said Ryan Adesnik, director of federal relations for Stanford. "Still, because of the veto threat, we may not see any real changes for researchers in the immediate term."

Frist has stated that no other stem cell legislation will be considered for the rest of the congressional session, and experts say Congress lacks the votes to override a presidential veto on H.R. 810. For these reasons it may be some time before a pro-research bill is enacted into law, but Adesnik thinks researchers should remain optimistic.

"Complicated issues take time, and these are very significant achievements on a very complicated issue," Adesnik said.