Republican Offers Support for Stem Cell Bill

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent, in opposition to the majority of Republicans, is the new lead co-sponsor of embryonic stem cell legislation, taking the place of Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., reports The Hill.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., has sponsored the bill which would give legislative power to the president’s 2009 decree allowing federal funding for medical research performed on abandoned embryos from fertility clinics.

Critics of the bill site religious and moral reasons for their opposition, contending that the research will destroy possible embryos to harvest the stem cells.

“This area of research is important to finding critical breakthroughs in a number of areas,” Dent told The Hill. “The bill does establish ethical criteria for stem cell research, and I think that’s very, very important.”