Showdown Looming On Stem Cells

In defiance of a presidential veto threat, senators who support embryonic stem cell research are pushing for a quick vote on a bill passed by the House that would lift restrictions on such studies.

"The American people cannot afford to wait any longer for our top scientists to realize the full potential of stem cell research," said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the bill's chief Democratic sponsor.

No Senate debate has been scheduled, according to aides to Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who is a doctor and an abortion opponent. He has long been an ally of President Bush, who last week said he would veto the bill.

The Republican-controlled House's 238-194 vote on Tuesday stung some abortion opponents even though it fell far short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. Such an action by Bush would be the first of his presidency.

The Senate bill, sponsored by Harkin and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is identical to the approved House version. It would lift Mr. Bush's 2001 restrictions on federal funding for new embryonic stem cell research.

Proponents say federal funding for the research on days-old embryos, using a process that destroys them, would accelerate the search for treatments and perhaps cures for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. They say the embryos would have been discarded anyway.

"The hope is that these stem cells will eventually be used to regenerate organs like the brain, the heart or the pancreas without the risk of rejection," said Dr. Emily Senay on The Early Show.

Opponents dispute that, questioning any evidence that embryonic stem cell research will lead to cures. They say taxpayers should not be forced to finance science they see as an attack on unborn babies and Mr. Bush's "culture of life."

In response to other critics who said that there is more promise from different stem cells that are found in umbilical cord blood and adults, Senay said scientists are pushing several forms of research.

"The full potential of all avenues of research has yet to be determined," she told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "Many scientists say that stem cells from cord blood and from adults hold less promise than those obtain from the embryos. That's why scientists are so vocal about wanting to go forward with embryonic stem cell research."

Mr. Bush on Tuesday called the House bill "a mistake."

"This bill would take us across a critical ethical line, creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life," Mr. Bush said. He appeared at the White House with families who adopted frozen embryos, known as snowflake children, reports CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., one of the Senate's staunchest opponents of abortion, said he was "disheartened" by the House's approval but pleased by Mr. Bush's veto threat.

"Government should encourage lifesaving research, but should focus on science that both works and is ethical," he said.

The bill's supporters said the Senate should weigh in despite the opposition.

"Let's have an up-or-down vote," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in an interview.

A majority of Americans approve of using embryonic stem cells in medical studies, according to a CBS News poll. Fifty-eight percent say they support stem cell research, while 31 percent disapprove.

Approval is higher now than it was last August; then, 50 percent approved and 31percent disapproved, but 19 percent had no opinion.

Republicans are less likely than Democrats to approve of it, although half do. Approval of stem cell research among Republicans has risen significantly since last year; then, 37 percent approved of it, now 50 percent do. Approval has risen among Democrats as well, although less dramatically, from 57 to 65 percent now.

CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin notes that while the stem cell debate has intensified in this country, the actual research on embryonic stem cells to treat disease is moving ahead in

The medical promise of embryonic stem cell research prompted several House members of both parties who oppose abortion rights to vote yes nonetheless. The moral obligation, they argued, rested on Congress to fund research that could lead to cures for debilitating illnesses.

"Who can say that prolonging a life is not pro-life?" said Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., who said she had a "perfect" pro-life record and whose mother-in-law had died the night before of Alzheimer's disease.

"I must follow my heart on this and cast a vote in favor," she said.

"Being pro-life also means fighting for policies that will eliminate pain and suffering," said Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., who was paralyzed at 16 in a gun accident.

But Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and other House members who voted against the bill said that even if this type of embryonic stem cell research were proven to cure disease, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill would still be wrong.

"In the life of men and nations some mistakes you can't undo," DeLay said as he closed the House debate. "If we afford the little embryo any shred of respect and dignity we cannot in good faith use taxpayer dollars to destroy them."

He and Mr. Bush urged passage of another measure which would fund research and treatment on stem cells derived instead from umbilical cord blood and adults.

Blood saved from newborns' umbilical cords is rich in a type of stem cells that produces blood in the same way that transplanted bone marrow produces it. The Institute of Medicine recently estimated that cord blood could help treat about 11,700 Americans a year with leukemia and other devastating diseases, yet most is routinely discarded.

That bill passed 430-1, with Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the lone no vote.