Adult Stem Cell Bill Defeated

Another update via R. Alta Charo:

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Rick Santorum, a conservative struggling to win reelection, suffered a political setback late Tuesday when the House rejected his bill to encourage adult stem cell research. The 273-154 vote fell 12 votes short of the two-thirds majority required under the rules. Opponents, mostly Democrats, said the bill would have given the Republican Santorum and other anti-abortion lawmakers political cover for opposing a related bill that instead would fund embryonic stem cell research. The bill had passed the Senate unanimously earlier in the day. Santorum likens embryonic stem cell research to abortion because a days-old embryo is destroyed in the process of extracting stem cells.

A spokesman for Santorum did not respond to requests for comment.