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The Stem Cell Enhancement Act will be done as a 3 bill package S471 with S2754 (ASCR. ANT and gene biopsy)and S3504 (Fetal Farming). it is so important to please Brownback and Santorum. GRRRR Tricky, huh??? Ray Jun 29, 2006 - By Joanne Kenen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly a year after Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist made his surprise endorsement of a bill to allow federally backed stem cell research, he has whittled down many obstacles to Senate passage, senators and aides said on Thursday. The Tennessee Republican, a potential presidential candidate and a physician, says research on cells derived from human embryos leftover from fertility treatments has vast potential to treat deadly diseases. Many of his fellow anti-abortion conservatives, however, oppose the research because the embryos are destroyed. Frist has said he would like the Senate to vote as early as next month, although President George W. Bush has vowed to veto it. Despite the veto threat, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a stem cell bill last year. Frist embraced the House bill but has not brought it to a Senate vote, in part because of objections from such conservatives as Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, also a doctor. "I'm an obstacle," Coburn said recently. "I don't know if I'm the only obstacle but I'm an obstacle." His spokesman said on Thursday that Coburn had not changed his position. Two other strongly anti-abortion Republican senators, Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, say they will no longer block a Senate vote, even though both of them will vote against the House-passed bill. Their changed stance allowed Frist to simplify his task. Instead of trying to strike a deal involving six complex bills on stem cells and cloning, he is now addressing a simpler three-bill package, two of which are less controversial than the House stem cell bill. One would ban "fetal farming," or implantation of embryos into women for the purpose of harvesting cells or tissue. The other would promote more research into ways of using stem cells without destroying an embryo. "I'm OK with a vote on the three bill package," Brownback said. An aide to Santorum said, "The senator is not attempting to block consideration of (the House-passed embryonic stem cell bill) although he opposes the bill and expects the president to veto it." Copyright 2006 Reuters News Service. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn