US House passes embryonic stem cell bill

The US House of Representatives voted Tuesday to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, despite that President George W. Bush has threatened to veto it.

The House passed the bill by a 238-194 vote, far short of the two-thirds majority needed to sustain a veto.

Bush has repeatedly said he would veto the bill. "This bill would take us across a critical ethical line by creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life," Bush said Tuesday when meeting a group of parents who adopted their children in the embryonic stage.

"Crossing this line would be a great mistake," he added.

The bill would lift Bush's 2001 ban on federal funding for new research using stem cell lines derived from embryos since August 2001.

Embryonic stem cells can grow into any tissue or cell in the body. Scientists believe embryonic stem cells would enable tailored cures for spinal cord injury and such diseases as childhood diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. But culling stem cells from embryos destroys embryos.

Supporters of the bill said the bill intends to use the otherwise discarded embryos for study. Bush said Tuesday that there are no "spare embryos."

An alternative bill offered by Republican leaders was also approved by a vote of 430-1. The bill focuses on the use of stem cells derived form adults and umbilical cords rather than from embryos.

Stem cells in the blood from newborns' umbilical cords are the type to produce blood in the way transplanted bone marrow does in treating diseases like leukemia.

This bill would provide 79 million US dollars for stem cell research using umbilical cord blood and establish a national database for patients looking for matches. It also would clear the way for studies on stem cells derived from adults.

Source: Xinhua