109th Congress / House / 1st session / Vote 204
- Question: On Passage
- Bill: H R 810
- Vote description: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act
- Vote type: Yea-and-Nay (Help)
- Result: Passed, 238-194, with 2 not voting.
- Date/time: May 24, 2005, 6:07 p.m.
- Republican majority opinion: No (Help)
- Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
Key Vote Analysis
Defying President Bush's threats to veto this bill, House Democrats, joined by 50 Republicans, voted to repeal restrictions on federal spending on embryonic stem cell research. According to reporting from The Washington Post the bill would have made "federal money available for research on embryonic stem cells extracted from frozen embryos donated by couples who no longer need them for fertility treatments" and would have "lifted a restriction imposed by Bush" four years before. Those original restrictions "limited federally funded research to fewer than two dozen embryonic stem cell colonies, or lines."
Proponents of the legislation argued that the research would help lead to cures for a number of debilitating diseases. President Bush and many pro-life Republicans were solidly opposed to the bill, arguing that the destruction of embryos during research equaled the destruction of human life.
Debate on the bill was particularly rancorous and personal, with some lawmakers telling stories of their own or family members' suffering from diseases that could potentially be cured as the result of the research. Meanwhile, President Bush held a rally with children who parents had adopted them as embryos.
The House passed its version of the bill on May 24, 2005. The measure then moved to the Senate where it died despite the last-minute decision by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a doctor, to drop his previous opposition to funding of embryonic stem cell research.
President Bush vetoed the bill, making it the first such action of his presidency. Congress is unlikely to be able to override the promised veto with the necessary two-thirds majority in both chambers.
See other key votes in the 109th Congress
