Vote No on Stem Cell Sabotage

Life news is touting stem cell research funding outlined in the 2007 budget:

… President Bush and pro-life groups are frequently accused of not supporting stem cell research in general. However, the president's 2007 budget includes spending more than $600 million on the research.

Under the 2007 budget, the National Institutes of Health would spend $605 million on stem cell research.

Approximately 95 percent of the money would go towards adult stem cell research, which has already been responsible for producing dozens of cures and treatments for various diseases.

Some $38 million will be spent on 21 preexisting embryonic stem cell lines.

Spending on the approved embryonic stem cell lines isn't increasing very significantly (it has hovered around $25 million for the past several years), but scientists are not too keen on using them anyway because they're old and contaminated by mouse cells. The remaining $567 million for adult stem cell research is a decent amount.

But some members of the pro-life GOP aren't happy with the severe restrictions on embryonic stem cell funding made clear by the lopsided funding. They have plans to try to counter the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (already passed in the house, rumored to come up for vote in the senate soon) with competing bills that would allow funding for even more alternatives to embryonic stem cell research, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and fellow Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Johnny Isakson of Georgia are crafting a bill they are referring to as the "third way" on stem-cell research -- one that Specter and Harkin fear could siphon off support from their bill.

Frist has not revealed details of the "third way" legislation. But aides expect that it will permit funding for new techniques that scientists are exploring to harvest embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos -- methods that were debated by scientists and ethicists whom Specter invited to testify before a Senate subcommittee yesterday morning.

If the "third way" consists of the alternative methods of obtaining embryonic stem cells outlined previously, I'd like to point out what James Battey, Chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force said about them:

Although some of these approaches may address interesting scientific questions and may even lead to new ways to derive stem cells, science works best when all available avenues can be pursued simultaneously.

NIH places a high priority on support for research using embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells that will also be useful for basic, translational, and clinical studies.

I hope the pursuit of all available avenues won't be blocked by political sabotage.