Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005

Republican know-nothings are apparently beginning to feel the heat from voters about stem cell research. The troglodytic Republican leadership has apparently agreed to allow a vote on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, according to the Washington Post. Basically, the act would allow federal funding of stem cell lines derived from leftover embryos donated by couples who have stopped their infertility treatments.

Why have our solons at last chosen to allow such a vote? Because they want to get re-elected. They've finally awakened to the fact that polls consistently show a majority of Americans favoring human embryonic stem cell research. The Post reports that a new poll finds that two-thirds of the public supports stem cell research.

Setting aside the federal funding aspect, passage of this bill would lift some of the restrictions President Bush placed on stem cell research that chilled even private research efforts. Of course, President Bush is not running for re-election, so I'm betting he'll veto the bill once it passes to show his devotion to a dubious "culture of life" ethic. It's a puzzle how people who want to deny possible transplant treatments to millions of actual living, breathing, thinking people who suffer from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more can claim they favor a "culture of life."

Fortunately, the voters know what it really means to support a "culture of life."