The legislation, H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, is identical to legislation which was passed in both the House and Senate during the 109^th Congress (2005-2006), by a strong bi-partisan majority, but was vetoed by President Bush.

“Passing legislation is an important step in the right direction to ensure that advanced scientific research will be made available and lead us to finding cures for Parkinson’s and other diseases,” said Amy Comstock, CEO, PAN. “I urge each House member to join in support of this vital legislation and send a strong message that limiting potential in science is unacceptable.”

The legislation would expand current policy to allow for federal dollars to be used for stem cell research on donated embryos from fertility clinic patients. This legislation also specifies strict ethical guidelines. The stem cells may only be derived from In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)-created embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

The current Administration policy states that federal funds may only be used for research on embryonic stem cell cultures created prior to August 9, 2001.

More than 120 million Americans suffer from chronic and life-threatening diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, ALS, osteoporosis and spinal cord injuries. Medical researchers have discovered that many diseases and injuries could potentially be treated or cured by new regenerative medicine therapies involving stem cells.

The legislation will be considered Thursday, January 11.