House Bill to Ease Stem Cell Curbs Gains Momentum

"There is only one argument against stem cell research, and that is meeting the demands of the religious right," he said in an interview.

James C. Greenwood, a moderate Republican who retired from Congress last year to become president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), said he is "cautiously optimistic" that, given the large number of co-sponsors, the House will pass the bill.

"There's always a fair assumption that some members don't want to have their names on the bill because they don't want to draw fire but will vote for it," he said, adding that BIO, which supports the bill "100 percent," has identified at least 218 votes for it.

If the vote is blocked -- or, as some proponents fear, the bill is modified with language they object to -- sponsors have a backup plan.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who has teamed up with Castle to push the issue, said she is prepared to attach the stem cell language to appropriations bills or legislation reauthorizing the National Institutes of Health. "They know I've got the votes," she said.

In the Senate, where Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is under pressure to schedule a floor vote on an identical bill, proponents have warned that they may have the 60 votes needed to kill a filibuster. "Whether he brings it to the floor or not, I think we're going to get it to the floor," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah).

With a House vote expected before the Memorial Day weekend recess, advocates on both sides have released dueling poll results and plan a series of publicity events. Today, four physician-lawmakers will highlight treatments they say are as good as or better than those involving embryonic stem cells. Next week, parents of children who were "adopted" as embryos will lobby against the Castle-DeGette bill.

Weldon predicted Bush would veto the legislation, but Hatch and others said that is not certain. Michael Manganiello, senior vice president of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, said advocates are scrutinizing Bush's previous comments "to see if there is room for the president to allow a compromise to his initial policy."

Opponents, with the support of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), are hoping to persuade undecided Republicans to vote instead for a bill sponsored by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) that would create a national umbilical cord blood bank. Cord blood cells display some of the same traits as embryonic stem cells but are more limited in the types of tissues they can become.