[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Stem Cell Bill Gets Bush's First Veto

From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 22:58:56 +0200

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Stem Cell Bill Gets Bush's First Veto

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page A04

President Bush issued the first veto of his five-year-old administration
yesterday, rejecting Congress's bid to lift funding restrictions on human
embryonic stem cell research and underscoring his party's split on an emotional
issue in this fall's elections.

At a White House ceremony where he was joined by children produced from what he
called "adopted" frozen embryos, Bush said taxpayers should not support
research on surplus embryos at fertility clinics, even if they offer possible
medical breakthroughs and are slated for disposal.

The vetoed bill "would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of
finding medical benefits for others," the president said, as babies cooed and
cried behind him. "It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to
respect." Each child on the stage, he said, "began his or her life as a frozen
embryo that was created for in vitro fertilization but remained unused after
the fertility treatments were complete. . . . These boys and girls are not
spare parts."

Within hours of Bush's announcement, the House, as expected, fell short in a
bid to override the veto, extinguishing the issue as a legislative matter this
year but not as a political matter. Democrats said voters will penalize GOP
candidates for the demise of a popular measure, and predicted the issue could
trigger the defeat of Bush allies such as Sen. James M. Talent, who faces a
tough reelection battle in Missouri.

"Those families who wake up every morning to face another day with a deadly
disease or a disability will not forget this decision by the president to stand
in the way of sound science and medical research," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin
(D-Ill.).

Some conservatives also criticized the veto. "I am pro-life, but I disagree
with the president's decision," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.),
a heart surgeon who is weighing a 2008 presidential run. "Given the potential
of this research and the limitations of the existing [human embryonic stem
cell] lines eligible for federally funded research, I think additional lines
should be made available."

The House and Senate passed the bill by comfortable margins but not with the
two-thirds majorities required to override a veto. The House voted 235 to 193
yesterday to override Bush, falling short of the threshold and negating the
need for a Senate override attempt.

Bush did sign a bill, unanimously passed this week by the House and Senate, to
ban the creation of human fetuses for the sole purpose of harvesting organs.
But the House thwarted prompt passage of another bill he had hoped to sign
yesterday. It would have promoted efforts to conduct stem cell research without
destroying human embryos. Bush called it "an important piece of legislation,"
but several Democrats called it a political fig leaf intended to distract
attention from his veto of the long-debated funding measure for embryonic stem
cells.

Bush has threatened vetoes on numerous issues over the years, but he and the
Republican-controlled Congress had always worked out their differences. On stem
cells, however, the president drew a sharp line during his first nationally
televised address, on Aug. 9, 2001, banning government funding for research
using human embryonic stem cell colonies created after that date.

Over the next five years, public sentiment increasingly moved away from him as
celebrities such as Nancy Reagan and Christopher Reeve touted the potential
that embryonic stem cells offer in treating Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other conditions. Unlike "adult"
stem cells, embryonic cells can replicate themselves and turn into almost any
human tissue.

Officials say that about 400,000 frozen embryos are stored at U.S. fertility
clinics. The vast majority await disposal because the couples that produced
them have completed their pursuit of children and do not want another person to
raise their biological child. Bush praised those who "adopt" such embryos,
implant them in a woman's womb and bring them to term.

But others said there will be few such adoptions because most couples seeking a
child through in vitro fertilization want a genetic connection to that child.
"Even with federal funding available to encourage adoption, the number is 128,
which makes it conclusive that these 400,000 embryos will either be used for
scientific research or thrown away," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), a proponent of
the bill, said this week.

Bush and his allies say that frozen embryos are tantamount to humans, and
therefore are no more appropriate for medical research than are death row
inmates. "If this bill were to become law," Bush said yesterday, "American
taxpayers would for the first time in our history be compelled to fund the
deliberate destruction of human embryos."

Others reject that analysis, saying it would make killers of every couple that
produces an unused embryo, and every employee and official who allows fertility
clinics to produce and store such embryos.

"If that's murder, how come the president allows that to continue?" asked Sen.
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). "Where is his outrage?" Harkin called the veto "a shameful
display of cruelty, hypocrisy and ignorance."

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Stem Cell Bill Gets Bush's First Veto

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