Anonymous Senate Democrats Hold Up Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Bill

This is inexcusable. The Senate is poised to pass a bill (S 1317) that would bring the wonders of umbilical cord blood stem cells to sick and disabled people throughout the country by addressing the current problem of lack of supply. The bill passed the House by 431-1! Yet, anonymous Democrats in the Senate are keeping the bill from immediate passage—even though they will almost certainly vote for the bill if it ever reaches the floor.

I have a piece on it in the current Weekly Standard. (Currently available on-line to subscribers only.) After describing the benefits of UBC stem cells and the bill, I make the following points:

“Yet despite this widespread enthusiasm, the measure is stalled in the Senate. Majority Leader Bill Frist wants the bill moved to the floor for an immediate vote. To do so in the waning days of this session, he would need the unanimous consent of all senators. That isn’t a problem for the majority party. According to Eric Ueland, Frist’s chief of staff, ‘Republican senators are, to a member, ready to vote for and pass this legislation.’ What about across the aisle? ‘Democrats have paid lip service to the bill,’ Ueland says, but their “leadership is working behind the scenes to hold it up and prevent it from coming to a vote.’

[I describe how my call to Minority Leader Reid about this matter was not returned]. “How could this be, when Democrats so often beat their breasts about the necessity of getting revolutionary stem cell treatments to suffering patients? ...

“Since these obstructionists don’t have the courage to speak publicly, we can only engage in conjecture about their motives. According to one Senate source with whom I spoke, the bill is being held hostage to ensure a floor vote on increased federal funding of more controversial embryonic stem cell research. ...

“This may be seen by some senators as a clever political ploy, but coming at the expense of desperately ill people, the delay is immoral. As Senator Sam Brownback told me, ‘The politics over unrelated controversial and unproven technologies is getting in the way of a practical and readily available technique that would start saving lives soon after this bill became law.’

“Time is of the essence. If the bill is not passed before the next recess, it may take another six months to reach the Senate floor for a vote—assuming it ever does. Every day that the bill is bottled up is a day preventing patients from receiving desperately needed help.”