109th Congress / Senate / 2nd session / Vote 206

• Question: On Passage of the Bill
• Bill: H R 810
• Vote description: H.R.810; Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005
• Vote type: 1/2 (Help)
  A simple majority of those present and voting is required for approval or passage.
• Result: Passed, 63-37.
• Date/time: July 18, 2006, 4:41 p.m.
• Republican majority opinion: No (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Republicans. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."
• Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Democrats. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."

Key Vote Analysis

This bill would permit federal funds to be used to support medical research into therapies derived from embryonic stem cells. Funds would be restricted to research on human embryos slated to be destroyed by fertility clinics.

The measure would overturn President Bush's executive order blocking federal funding for research involving any embryonic stem cells developed after Aug. 9, 2001, the date he announced his policy. The president defends his stance on the grounds that the process of extracting stem cells destroys embryos, which are the beginning of human life. The president's position is supported by many groups and lawmakers committed to banning abortion. However, the debate did not divide along traditional "pro-life" and "pro-choice" lines, as many abortion foes voted in favor of the stem-cell research proposal.

Supporters of stem-cell research believe it could provide cures or effective treatments for a host of diseases, including diabetes and Parkinson's. They note that the embryos in question would be destroyed anyway. Opinion polls show that as much as 70 percent of the American public also supports the research. Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a heart-transplant surgeon, said he believes human life begins at conception, but he defended medical advances that might derive from embryos that are "100 percent" certain to be destroyed.

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. Last year the House passed the same embryonic stem cell bill by a vote of 238 to 194, well short of the two-thirds threshold. Sixty-three senators voted for the bill, four short of the two-thirds needed for override.

The Senate debated two other stem cell bills on July 18, 2006. One of the bills encourages research into creating stem cell lines without destroying human embryos. The other would ban the creation of a fetus solely for the purpose of destroying it and harvesting its body parts. Both bills passed the Senate unanimously.

See other key votes in the 109th Congress

Vote totals