When Hatch — nationally known as a strong opponent of abortion — announced his support for embryonic stem-cell research four years ago, he invoked the wrath of pro-life groups that believe life begins at conception. They were furious that Hatch's support gave political cover to other Republicans or conservative Democrats also to support it.

"I believe that being pro-life involves helping the living," Hatch told the Senate on Tuesday. "Experts believe that upward of 100 million Americans — and hundreds of millions of others around the world — may one day benefit from stem-cell research" into such diseases as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.

Hatch also read a letter supporting the bill from former first lady Nancy Reagan, whose husband long suffered from Alzheimer's. She also lobbied for the bill.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., fought the bill, in part, by making an appearance with three children adopted from in-vitro fertilization clinics.

"It is immoral to destroy the youngest of human lives for research purposes," Brownback said. "It is an age-old human debate, whether you allow the stronger to take advantage of the weaker. We have already regretted doing it in the past; we will regret this, too."

The White House also fought the bill. Spokesman Tony Snow said, "The president is not going to get on the slippery slope of taking something living and making it dead for the purposes of scientific research."

However, Hatch noted that more than 400,000 frozen embryos are in existence at any given time in America, "and each year, tens of thousands of such spare embryos are routinely and unceremoniously discarded and destroyed."

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said, "You either use these embryos for research that will help cure people of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease, or you discard them."

But Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said, "It is human, and it's alive, and under HR810, we say that the federal government is going to fund the destruction, the killing, of that embryo."

Bennett said he supported the bill, in part to keep the federal government and its National Institutes of Health involved in the stem-cell research that is occurring and would continue, even without federal funding.

"If the NIH were cut out all together, as it would be without this bill, the federal government would be left without any say in the ethical guidelines framing this science," Bennett said.

Two related bills also passed both the House and Senate Tuesday. One encouraged study on stem cells derived from sources other than embryos. The other bans so-called "fetal farming," where fetuses would be developed and aborted specifically for scientific research. Bush is expected to sign those two bills.

Embryonic stem cells are essentially master cells, able to morph into all the cell types found in the body.

If scientists could learn to control these cells and coax them into becoming specific types on demand, they could grow replacements for damaged tissue. The idea is to use this process — still theoretical — to cure or treat a raft of diseases and injuries, from diabetes to Alzheimer's and spinal-cord damage.

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Contributing: Associated Press

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com