Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

State House leaders hope to pass stem cell bill

BOSTON (AP) – Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday they expect to pass a bill by the end of March legalizing embryonic stem cell research, and predicted they will have the votes to override an expected veto by Republican Gov. Mitt Romney.

“It’s an absolute necessity that we do this,” House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, told supporters of the legislation. “By the end of this month I’d like to have this bill on the governor’s desk.”

The bill would clarify existing state law, making it legal to conduct research using embryonic stem cells in Massachusetts. It would also specifically ban any research aimed at reproductive cloning.

Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-Boston, predicted the two-thirds majority will be in place to override Romney’s veto. The Senate easily passed a similar bill last year, but it was blocked from reaching a vote in the House by former Speaker Thomas Finneran.

“We’re already at two-thirds,” Travaglini said. “We’re going to have to override a gubernatorial veto. He (Romney) has made it abundantly clear that he is going to veto the bill.”

Romney supports embryonic stem cell research using discarded embryos from fertility clinics, but opposes the creation of new embryos for use in research.

Some lawmakers have expressed concern that the bill is moving too fast, saying more time is needed to understand the complicated scientific and moral issues involved.

Travaglini announced his intention to push for the bill at the beginning of January. If a bill comes up for a vote by the end of March, lawmakers will have had three months to study the issue, he said.

“I don’t want to be viewed as accelerating the political process for personal political gain. I want to make sure all objections are heard,” Travaglini said. “I’m trying to have an opportunity for this to be vetted thoroughly.”

Romney says his opposition is based on a fundamental moral opposition to the creation of new human life solely for the purpose of research – even if that human life consists of a microscopic cluster of a few hundred cells.

“I believe there have to be ethical boundaries set,” Romney said when he announced his opposition to the bill. “No one would say, `let’s create an embryo and then a fetus and then prior to birth kill it and take cells out of it for research.’ It might have therapeutic benefits, but no one thinks we ought to do that.”

Researchers, including those at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, say Romney’s push for a ban on the creation of new embryos would hamstring their work and slow progress on potential new treatments for a host of illnesses, from sickle cell anemia to juvenile diabetes.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., has also criticized the governor’s position, saying a ban on the cloning of embryos for stem cell research would discourage scientists from working in Massachusetts.

-Associated Press

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