A recent Boston Globe article noted that because of the upcoming elections, a full legislative calendar, and filibuster threats from Senate conservatives, the prospect of a floor debate over embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) is slim.

CWA opposes two key bills aimed at providing federal funding because they  would destroy human embryos for research.  The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), has 42 co-sponsors.  The House version, H.R. 810, has 201 co-sponsors. 

President Bush adopted a strong stance against federal funding for ESCR at the beginning of his term in office and has firmly said he would veto any legislation that opposes that policy.  Despite the President’s position, Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) came out in favor of ESCR in 2005 and pledged to move the issue to the Senate floor for a vote. 

However, prospects for that action now seem less likely, especially because Frist has not scheduled a floor debate.

''When you look at the number of incredibly important issues the Senate has to deal with right now, it would be irresponsible for them to waste their time on that bill," said Wendy Wright, president of CWA.

The field of ESCR took another significant hit last year after a leading researcher, South Korean scientist Dr. Hwang Woo Suk, admitted faking the results of his research and coercing his subordinate female researchers into donating their eggs. 

“The bottom line is that ESCR is not a field of promise and hope,” said Lanier Swann, CWA’s Director of Government Relations, “but is an empty effort that requires destroying life and exploiting women in the hopes of finding cures for diseases.”

CWA will maintain the position that, for the safety of women and the sanctity of life, ESCR should not be funded at the expense of American taxpayers.