Hatch pushes for stem-cell bill

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) implored his colleagues yesterday to take up a bill that would expand federal funding for research into embryonic stem cells.

Defying President Bush’s veto threat, the House passed a stem-cell research bill Tuesday, 238-194. Hatch, a Mormon and vocal opponent of abortion rights, has co-sponsored companion legislation in the Senate.

“I respect President Bush’s views on this issue,” Hatch said in his statement. “But I know, as a long-standing pro-life Senator, that it is possible to be both anti-abortion and pro-embryonic stem cell research.”

Patrick O’Connor