Editorial: House is not swayed

Thursday, June 14, 2007 | 8:04 a.m.

S cientists have announced that they have grown what are essentially embryonic stem cells using ordinary cells from a mouse's skin.

If the process works effectively in humans, it could drastically change the ongoing debate over the use of human embryonic stem cells in medical research. Stem cells, which are created in the first five days after conception, can be grown into an array of specialized cells that researchers believe may hold the keys to cures for such illnesses as Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Three separate teams of scientists - one in Japan and two in the United States - announced June 6 that they had created mouse stem cells from the animal's skin.

The House, apparently able to see the discovery for the scientific long shot that it still is, went ahead and passed embryonic stem cell research legislation to overturn President Bush's Aug. 9, 2001, declaration that federal money could be used to study only embryonic stem cells harvested before that date.

The Senate passed similar legislation in April. Proponents of the research say the stem cell supply in existence before Bush's 2001 cutoff date is contaminated or too small.

Bush has promised to veto such legislation, and the House measure passed June 7 was 35 votes short of what would be needed to override that veto.

Those who support Bush's stance hailed the scientific discovery regarding mouse stem cells as proof that human stem cells do not need to be taken from embryos, and therefore legislation to overturn Bush's position is not needed.

But such claims are premature. A mouse is not a human and, as one of the scientists told The Washington Post last week, "a lot more work has to be done" in this promising area of study.

In the meantime, Congress should not abandon its efforts to overturn Bush's shortsighted stem cell policy. People who are afflicted with debilitating and life-threatening diseases have no time to waste.

The more research that is ongoing, the better.