The Senate overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act, but only after rejecting amendments offered by supporters of embryo destructive research. 

As I have written before, the purpose of Senate Bill 148 is to advance the types of non embryo destructive research over which there is no ethical controversy.  An amendment by Senator David Adelman, which was crafted to muddle this distinction, was rejected by a large bipartisan majority.  Senator Adelman then offered a “floor substitute” which, if passed, would have had the effect of sending the bill back to the Rules Committee, likely killing it for the session.  This stunt too was rejected, again by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. 

The bill then passed by a vote of 39 to 15.  Seven Democrats joined 32 Republicans in supporting the bill.  The two senators who missed the vote were both Republicans and cosponsors of the bill, so had all members of the body been present, Senate Bill 148 would have passed 41 to 15.

Still, fifteen members of the Senate Democratic Caucus went on record opposing stem cell research unless it included embryo destruction.  They did so even though every stem cell medical advance has involved stem cells from nonembryonic sources.  It was a revealing — and in many ways, disturbing — moment.

Senator Nan Orrock and Senator Vincent Fort, whose filibuster last year killed a similar bill to promote nondestructive stem cell research, joined Senator Adelman in voting no.  Senator Orrock was the lone vote against the bill in committee.

Keone Penn, who in 1998 was cured of sickle cell anemia by a then experimental treatment involving an umbilical stem cell, was in the Senate gallery to show his support of this bill.  He will be 21 years old this year.

Senate Bill 148 has been endorsed by the American Sickle Cell Anemia Association and Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.  For more information about Senate Bill 148, visit Saving the Cure dot com.

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