HR 810 Passes in the Senate, Presidential Veto Promised

The bill I wrote about yesterday, HR 810, The Stem Cell Research Enhancement bill, passed today in the Senate with good bipartisan support. The president continues to promise to veto the bill, and it's not currently clear if there are enough votes to override the veto. White House spokesman Tony Snow offered us this, as the presidential rationale, today:

"The president believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder. He's one of them."

It's hard to see how "many people" could consider this "murder" if they were paying much attention. The legislation in question would allow federal funding for research on stem cell lines derived from frozen embryos that are stored at fertility clinics and slated for destruction.
These embryos are already considered medical waste, murder doesn't enter into the equation. How much better would it be to use these cells to research cures for such killers and cripplers as: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Childhood Leukemia, and Spinal Cord Injuries, to name but a few. For more information on Stem Cell Research and its possibilities than you might ever absorb, spend some time at the National Institute of Health's pages on the subject. If you've ever watched a friend, relative, or lover die from the ravages of AIDS, consider this:

On July 3, a team at the University of California at Los Angeles reported they had transformed human embryonic stem cells into immune cells known as T-cells -- offering a way to restore immune systems ravaged by AIDS and other diseases.

Call, email or fax the White House, and continue to let your senators know that an override to a presidential veto is of vital importance. The possibilities for relief of so much human suffering are great; I'd far rather have my tax dollars funding this than putting nuclear weapons in space.

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