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Bush Blocks Stem Cell Bill
Washington (UPI) Jul 20, 2006 President Bush used the first veto of his presidency to reject a bill from Congress expanding federally funded medical research using embryonic stem cells. The veto came less than a day after the Senate passed the bill 63 to 27. Despite the broadly bipartisan vote, the president said he remains opposed to research that would require the destruction of human embryos to advance. "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it," Bush said in a White House speech. Bush has never wavered from his position finding it unacceptable to destroy embryos for medical studies. But his veto put him at odds with many pro-life lawmakers in his own party who support the research because of its potential to facilitate cures for a host of diseases. Some of the bill's supporters accused President Bush of holding back promising medical research because of his personal ideology. "I think what the president did is really to condemn million of Americans to suffering, needless suffering," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, one of the bill's sponsors. The House voted 235 to 193 to override the veto. It would have required 290 votes to pass. The bill would have overturned a 2001 order by Bush that confined federal research funding to embryonic cell lines already existing at the time. It sought to expand funding to lines derived from embryos stored in fertilization clinics, as long as the embryos are scheduled for destruction and the donors consent to the research in writing. In his speech, Bush promoted research on other types of stem cells, including those isolated from adult bone marrow and umbilical-cord blood. Those sources have been already used to develop cures for forms of leukemia and other blood diseases. Supporters and opponents accused one another of distorting the science surrounding stem cell research. Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla., said supporters continue to oversell the promise of embryonic-stem-cell research, which to date has resulted in no disease cures. "This business about cures being around the corner. They don't have an animal model that shows that embryonic stem cells work and they are safe," said Weldon, who is a physician. Bush said he would not support public money being used for studies harming what he sees as nascent humans. He delivered his speech while surrounded by children whose parents adopted them as embryos stored at fertilization clinics. "American taxpayers would for the first time be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of human embryos," said Bush. "I will not allow it." A decade-old law known as the Dickey Amendment already b
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Stem Cell Bill Passes US Senate In Time For Bush Veto
Washington (UPI) Jul 20, 2006The Senate voted to greatly expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research Tuesday, even as lawmakers prepared for President Bush to quickly veto the measure. The issued an official veto threat Monday, and lawmakers and aides say they expect the president to veto the popular bill as early as Wednesday. |
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