The choices before the U.S. Senate today present plenty of opportunities for members to posture, pontificate and cover their posteriors, so much so that the wave of conservative senators who were prepared to make a courageous choice will still be swamped by wedge-issue politics.

Utah's Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett are among those who have wisely declined to extend their pro-life sympathies to an absurdist level by extending federal protection to microscopic clusters of cells.

They favor lifting President Bush's ban on federal funds for embryonic stem cell research, research using embryos already destined for destruction as the surplus of America's many fertility clinics.

And, while the bill to that effect is set to pass as soon as today, that move stands to both be confused by a pair of decoy measures and to be vetoed.

What would be the first veto of Bush's five-year tenure is expected to withstand any attempted override.

While both that veto and the votes to sustain it may be based on genuine principle, the bills that today fly alongside Hatch's courageous attempt at improving the quality of life for millions of people yet unborn amount to enough spin that some senators will be able to claim allegiance to just about every position on this issue.

One bill would encourage, though not fund, federal research into adult stem cells, a process both noncontroversial and, experts say, likely to be nonproductive. Another would ban a practice that does not yet exist - harvesting human fetuses for scientific research.

Embryonic research is so promising as a way to treat maladies as diverse as diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries that many private sources, state governments and foreign countries are certain to pursue it. But the lack of full U.S. government support not only stands to delay the hoped-for success, but also risks a situation where therapies will be private property, available only to the wealthy, rather than being devoted to the public good.

Veto threat or no, the Senate should pass Hatch's bill. If Bush blocks it, backers should take their case to the people, where it no doubt will find a receptive ear.