Now, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and his fellow GOP lawmakers are reviewing legislation derived from a report this past May by Bush’s Council on Bioethics. This study looked into research that may also carry some medical promise but it is very much in its infancy.

Naturally, some of this latest research, in some cases, is ethically objectionable, the panel wrote. However, the panel said that four types of studies "deserve the nation’s careful and serious consideration."

Ethical boundaries
Bush was receptive to funding the theoretical approaches rather than medically more-promising research that destroys embryos, three lawmakers who have discussed the subject with him told The Associated Press.

"There was a sense around the table that if we could discover a way to extract the stem cells without destroying the embryo, that that was something that nearly everyone could support," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., who discussed the option with Bush at a White House meeting earlier this month. "The president was very enthusiastic about that. He clearly supported it."

Read more on the debate at MSNBC