Stem cell research bill reintroduced

Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Mike Castle (R-Del.) reintroduced legislation Tuesday that would expand and regulate research using embryonic stem cells.

DeGette and Castle, the lead sponsors of bills that passed Congress in 2006 and 2007 only to be vetoed each time by President George W. Bush, unveiled the latest version on the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's executive order freeing up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to begin funding new embryonic stem cell research.

Proponents of the controversial research contend that greater federal funding is needed to advance stem cell therapies, which scientists believe have the potential to treat a wide variety of ailments from cancer to spinal injuries. Opponents, mostly those in the anti-abortion-rights camp, object to the research on the grounds that human embryos are destroyed in the process of extracting the stem cells.

"Congress must still enact legislation so that both scientists and individuals who stand to benefit from the promise of this research will have some stability backing their quest for life-changing cures," DeGette said in a statement. Castle noted that their legislation would put into law ethical guidelines to govern embryonic stem cell research, such as rules pertaining to how embryos are acquired and what types of research are permitted. "Congress must act to ensure that an over-arching ethical framework is signed into law," he said in a statement.

The NIH issued its own set of guidelines and began funding new embryonic stem cell research last July.