Stem Cell Bill

Congress recently passed this bill, which would lift certain restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. It only applies to stem cells that "have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, were created for the purposes of fertility treatment ... were in excess of the clinical need of the individuals seeking such treatment ... would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded." In other words, it frees the federal government to perform research on embryos that will be destroyed anyway. Unfortunately, the vote was only 63-34 in the Senate and 247-176 in the House, not enough to survive the promised veto.