Governor concedes defeat on stem-cell bill Raises possibility of US legislation
Governor Mitt Romney yesterday conceded defeat in his bid to ban certain types of human embryonic cloning for stem-cell research in Massachusetts, a day after the Massachusetts House overwhelmingly passed a bill encouraging the research.
''The game is over, if you will," Romney told reporters yesterday. ''I expressed my view in the bill that I wanted to see passed. It didn't win, and apparently it's a veto-proof margin, so I'll of course vote my conscience, but I think this is one [in which] the story is completed."
The bill passed Thursday by the House, and a slightly different measure passed by the Senate a day earlier, both won with larger than two-thirds majorities, which means Romney and his veto pen have effectively been neutralized on the issue. The Legislature yesterday established a conference committee to forge a consensus version of the two bills passed this week. Leaders have not speculated on how long that might take, but with the House's annual budget debate set to take place later this month, it appears likely that the bill could become law in a matter of weeks.
Romney said he still plans to veto the compromise measure that emerges from the Legislature, but that he had no hope it would be sustained.
''I think there will be a view that Massachusetts, like California, is crossing into territory that our nation has never gone into before," Romney said, referring to a $3 billion bond initiative for stem-cell research passed by California voters last year. ''That's something which I think will lead to the expression of concern, and perhaps a careful look at federal legislation to define what the boundaries of ethics and science might be."
Romney, who is testing the waters for a possible run for the White House in 2008, aired a radio advertisement calling the Legislature's bill a ''radical cloning bill." The governor supports the use of human embryos left over from in vitro fertilization, but he opposes the cloning of new human embryos for stem-cell research.
Yesterday, the Republican governor speculated that the Democratic victory on Beacon Hill would be fleeting because the GOP-dominated Congress is considering a measure that would establish a national ban on the cloning of human embryos.
''I think you're going to see at the national level an interest in legislation which limits the creation of new embryos though cloning," Romney said. ''So I think you're going to see a national effort to define the boundaries of ethics, and I hope that proceeds."
Researchers involved in stem-cell research in Massachusetts said yesterday that they were thrilled that state lawmakers had acted swiftly to protect their growing industry, especially in light of the recent moves by California and New Jersey to lure researchers with the promise of public funds.
Dr. Leonard Zon, a stem-cell scientist at Children's Hospital, said the Legislature's actions left him ''very encouraged."
''I think this reflects the opinions of citizens throughout the state," Zon said. ''When I go to talk about stem cells, I get the very strong sense that people want to see stem-cell research move forward."
Zon said that he has not seen the details of how stem-cell research would be regulated. Although he said he welcomes regulation, he also fears the potential that it could be politicized.
Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, an East Boston Democrat, has said he hopes to pass a companion bill that would earmark as much as $100 million for research grants and other programs to lure stem-cell researchers to the state.
Gareth Cook of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
