Massachusetts stem cell bill gets veto-proof vote

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A bill that would allow embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts cleared its second big legislative hurdle on Thursday with enough support to withstand a near-certain veto by the state’s governor.

Following impassioned argument on both sides, the state House of Representatives voted 117-37 in favor of legislation that endorses stem cell research, including stem cells obtained from cloned human embryos.

The House approval, coupled with the state Senate’s overwhelming support for the bill on Wednesday, means the Democrat-controlled legislature has the two-thirds majority needed to override Republican Gov. Mitt Romney’s expected veto of the measure.

Debate over the bill came as Massachusetts - home to some of the leading academic and private researchers in the field - tries to stay competitive as other states offer lucrative incentives for the new science.

California voters last year approved a $3 billion initiative to fund stem cell research, while New Jersey’s acting governor has said his state will spend about $150 million to build a stem cell research center there.

Sal DiMasi, speaker of the Massachusetts House, said lawmakers had voted in favor of both helping those with debilitating illnesses and allowing the state’s stem cell researchers to pursue their work in a moral, ethical manner.

The legislation will now head to a joint House-Senate conference committee before it is submitted to the governor.

Romney, who supports some stem cell research but objects to cloning embryos, launched a media campaign this week aimed at blocking the measure.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells, used to generate new blood and tissue. They can come from a variety of sources but those taken from days-old human embryos seem to have the most flexibility, although scientists agree much more research is needed.

Proponents say research using human embryonic stem cells, either from fertility clinic leftovers or using cloning technology, promises to transform medicine. Opponents said the science destroys a human life.

In August 2001, President Bush limited the use of federal funds for stem cell research to batches of cells, called lines, that existed at the time. He said taxpayers who oppose the research should not have to pay for it.

Scientists said that severely limited what they could do. 

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