Frist backs expanded stem cell funding
The prospects for passage of legislation loosening federal restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research were dramatically enhanced Friday by a statement of support from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Frist said he will vote for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S. 471), which has passed the House, if it is modified to enhance ethical and scientific oversight of research and to prohibit financial and other incentives between scientists and fertility clinics, and if donors are given authority to decide whether their embryos are used for research purposes. S. 471 would require HHS to conduct and support research that utilizes stem cells derived from surplus embryos created for fertility treatments regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived. ...