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Senate passes bill to fund stem cell work
Scientist-backed bill passed with ethical stipulations, embryo doners must give informed consent
Ryan Dostalek
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Campus News
University of Wisconsin scientists backed a bill that passed Tuesday in the U.S. Senate that will expand federal funding available for embryonic stem cell research.
The Democratic-sponsored bill passed with a 63-34 margin and is an attempt to override President Bush's 2001 provision, which only allowed federal funding for research on 21 lines of stem cells.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will expand federal funding to stem cell lines that come from embryos developed for the purposes of in vitro fertilization, but were never used and would otherwise be disposed of according to an April 11 statement Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., made to the Senate.
"This bill will open doors for scientists to access new, healthy, uncontaminated stem cell lines that are currently off-limits to federally funded research under President Bush's restrictions," Feingold said.
Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., also voiced his opinion on the act in a statement to the Senate.
"Scientists tell us that harnessing the power of these cells could one day lead to new treatments, and maybe even cures, for a number of diseases that afflict American families," Kohl said.
Because of the controversy surrounding the issue, Kohl said any expansion of research must be closely monitored to maintain ethical standards.
According to the bill (S 5 ES), embryonic stem cell research would receive federal funding as the research is done on embryos intended for in vitro fertilization but are to be discarded because they are not needed. The bill also stated that the donors of the embryos need to give written and informed consent to make the donation and do not receive any incentive to do so.
Biology professor Rudy Buiser said that though the passing of the bill will improve research efforts, the effects would be relatively small on the Chippewa Valley.
"Overall (the bill) will have a potentially large impact on Wisconsin because UW-Madison is the leader in stem cell research," he said, adding that scientists at UW-Madison were the first to discover stem cells.
The bill was considered in conjunction with a Republican sponsored bill that would allow the expansion of embryonic stem cell research so long as the embryos were already dead, according to the Senate's calendar of active legislation.
The GOP bill also passed with a 70-28 vote in the Senate and is in committee in the House.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will now make its way to the president's desk to be signed. However, President Bush threatened to veto the legislation when it originated in the House this past January.
"Researchers believe that they can unlock enormous potential in stem cell research," Feingold said in his statement, "if Congress and the President will only give them the keys."
The Democratic-sponsored bill passed with a 63-34 margin and is an attempt to override President Bush's 2001 provision, which only allowed federal funding for research on 21 lines of stem cells.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will expand federal funding to stem cell lines that come from embryos developed for the purposes of in vitro fertilization, but were never used and would otherwise be disposed of according to an April 11 statement Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., made to the Senate.
"This bill will open doors for scientists to access new, healthy, uncontaminated stem cell lines that are currently off-limits to federally funded research under President Bush's restrictions," Feingold said.
Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., also voiced his opinion on the act in a statement to the Senate.
"Scientists tell us that harnessing the power of these cells could one day lead to new treatments, and maybe even cures, for a number of diseases that afflict American families," Kohl said.
Because of the controversy surrounding the issue, Kohl said any expansion of research must be closely monitored to maintain ethical standards.
According to the bill (S 5 ES), embryonic stem cell research would receive federal funding as the research is done on embryos intended for in vitro fertilization but are to be discarded because they are not needed. The bill also stated that the donors of the embryos need to give written and informed consent to make the donation and do not receive any incentive to do so.
Biology professor Rudy Buiser said that though the passing of the bill will improve research efforts, the effects would be relatively small on the Chippewa Valley.
"Overall (the bill) will have a potentially large impact on Wisconsin because UW-Madison is the leader in stem cell research," he said, adding that scientists at UW-Madison were the first to discover stem cells.
The bill was considered in conjunction with a Republican sponsored bill that would allow the expansion of embryonic stem cell research so long as the embryos were already dead, according to the Senate's calendar of active legislation.
The GOP bill also passed with a 70-28 vote in the Senate and is in committee in the House.
The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will now make its way to the president's desk to be signed. However, President Bush threatened to veto the legislation when it originated in the House this past January.
"Researchers believe that they can unlock enormous potential in stem cell research," Feingold said in his statement, "if Congress and the President will only give them the keys."
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