House GOP Urges Bush to Keep Stem Cell Ban

Republican House leaders urged the Bush administration to uphold a ban on embryonic stem cell research and block any federal funding of projects that use such cells.

The lawmakers oppose federal support of the research because human embryos are destroyed to extract stem cells--master cells that can be grown into virtually any tissue in the human body.

Scientists say treatments developed through the research have the potential to save millions of lives, and perhaps cure such disorders as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and paralysis from spinal injury.