In other stem cell research and cloning news, the House is scheduled to vote on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act on Thursday. The House and Senate have each already passed similar versions of the bill. But the Senate version added a section describing possible methods for deriving embryonic stem cells without killing embryos. So now the House must vote on that version. Then Congress can present the bill to the president, who has promised to veto it.
Members of the House apparently timed the cloning vote on Wednesday to precede the Thursday stem cell vote. Kristofer Eisenla, Diana DeGette's (D-Colorado) deputy chief of staff and communications director wrote in an email: "We want to make it crystal clear that we do not support reproductive cloning - and want to give Members an opportunity to vote to ban reproductive cloning. This bill does not address SCNT - leaving current law regarding SCNT as is." (SCNT = somatic cell nuclear transfer, another name for therapeutic cloning or cloning for research.)
Fine and dandy, but anyone against abortion (except for Orrin Hatch and a select few others) is likely still going to oppose the stem cell bill, and the Senate still won't have enough votes to override the promised presidential veto.
