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AMERICANS BELIEVE PRESIDENT BUSH SHOULD NOT VETO STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT
-- CAMR Calls on U.S. House of Representatives to Pass Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act --
WASHINGTON, D.C.; JUNE 5, 2007 – The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) today released new survey data that showed nearly sixty (60) percent of Americans want President Bush to sign the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act into law when it reaches his desk later this month.
More than 100 million Americans suffer from cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, ALS, and other debilitating diseases and disorders. CAMR and its members believe that embryonic stem cell research holds the key to better treatments and cures, providing American families with hope for the future.
During the 109th Congress, the House passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in 2005, followed by Senate passage in July 2006. Despite hearing from leaders in the scientific and medical community, as well as thousands of patients and their families, President Bush vetoed the bill on July 19, 2006.
The new leadership of the 110th Congress brought the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3) up for a vote and ultimately passage on January 11, 2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Senate on April 11, 2007. The bill was amended in the Senate to include language from last year’s Specter-Santorum bill (S. 2754) President Bush said he needed to support the legislation. This new bill -- S.5 – will go before the House for a vote on Thursday, June 7.
“Just as it does with other kinds of promising technological and medical research, the federal government must fund human embryonic stem cell research, otherwise we not only risk the lives and well-being of millions of Americans and their families, we also risk losing America’s leadership position in the fields of science and medicine,” added Tipton.
The poll was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation with a nationwide random sample of 1,000 people the week of May 14, 2007, and carries a margin of error of +/- three (3) percent.
# # # The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) is the nation's leading pro-cures coalition. It is comprised of nearly 100 nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, and foundations advocating for the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine -- including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer -- to cure disease and alleviate suffering for individuals with life-threatening illnesses and disorders.
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