Utah's Republican House members opposed the measure despite the vocal advocacy of their GOP colleague, Sen. Orrin Hatch.
The House bill would permit federal funding for research on stem cells derived from embryos at fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded. Bush vetoed the bill in July - his only veto in six years - and the White House said he will reject it again if it passes the Senate.
Supporters say the research could help cure diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and brain and spinal cord injuries. Opponents argue the science is hyped, that other methods for producing stem cells exist, and taxpayer money shouldn't facilitate the destruction of embryos.
"It cheapens us and gives us a cavalier attitude" toward life, said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, during debate on the bill.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, voted for the bill, saying it puts careful ethical constraints on the research. He predicts it will pass under the next president if it doesn't under this one.
"In my six years on the job, I have had so many Utahns come to me and advocate for this, and everyone I know knows someone who has been affected by Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and diabetes, and in all cases they recognize it has the potential to create a better life," Matheson said. "In six years on this job, I have not had one person - ever - tell me to vote against it."
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who voted against the legislation, said other bills would encourage research on types of stem cells other than those from embryos, "but the Democratic leadership has chosen not to follow that approach."
Supporters gained 15 votes since it passed the House last year, but the 253-174 margin is still 35 votes shy of the number needed to override a presidential veto.
"It is not too late for President Bush to do the right thing and say yes to cures," said Rep. Diana DeGette, House sponsor of the bill.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where Hatch has been championing it.
"For the life of me, I can't understand how we can destroy 7,000 to 20,000 fertilized eggs . . . and call that pro-life," when the embryos could be used for stem cell research, Hatch said this week. "Instead of standing in the way of embryonic stem cell research, the federal government should be leading out in creating the moral and ethical guidelines in which that research should be conducted."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which all five members of Utah's delegation belong, has no position on stem cell research.
The White House said in a statement Thursday that it strongly opposes the bill, which would "encourage the destruction of human life for research."
Bush enacted a policy in August 2001 allowing federal funding for stem cell lines that existed at the time. Critics say those lines are of limited use or contaminated, but the White House says $130 million has been spent on research using those cells.
The White House also cited a new study that touted the potential uses for amniotic stem cells. However, Anthony Atala, the Wake Forest researcher who published the findings, wrote a letter to House members that his research should complement, not replace, embryonic research.
James Kushner, a researcher at the University of Utah, said the embryonic stem cells are unique in that they can match cells in any organ. Providing federal funds would be an enormous boost to fledgling research programs, he said.
"There's not an institute that can fund this type of research in a meaningful way. Only the [National Institutes of Health] has the resources to do this," he said. "If it's vetoed, this sets us back a lot. The field can move forward without federal funding, but it will crawl forward and it will be surpassed by other countries' programs."
He said there is a lab at the university that does embryonic stem cell research without federal funding, but it has to be physically separate from research that gets federal funding.
Kushner led a National Institutes of Health panel created in 2000 to review applications for embryonic stem cell research funding, but the panel was abolished by Bush just before it awarded any grants.
gehrke@sltrib.com
