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Senate Plans Stem Cell Vote in April
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
49 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The Senate plans to vote on a bill next month to clear the way for government financing of new embryonic stem cell research, defying a presidential veto threat, aides close to the talks said Friday.
Lengthy negotiations with opponents of publicly funded research using human embryos produced an agreement under which senators would vote on two bills _ one similar to the version that passed last Congress, inspiring the lone veto of President Bush's tenure in office. It would lift Bush's 2001 ban on taxpayer-funded research using stem cells developed after that point in time.
To win the consent of all senators for a floor vote on that bill, negotiators agreed to a vote on a second bill more palatable to abortion opponents and other critics of embryonic stem cell research.
The alternative bill, sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., would direct the Health and Human Services Department to establish guidelines for stem cell research on embryos that have naturally lost the ability to develop into human beings. It also would ban most procedures by which embryos are created for the purpose of research.
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http://www.comcast.net/news/politics/index.jsp?cat=POLITICS&fn=/2007/03/30/623865.htmledited to add the link I forgot..