President George W. Bush vetoed
the latest embryonic stem cell funding bill on Wednesday, June 20 as he
had promised in a recent Statement of Administration Policy. The
U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill (S. 5) on June 7 by a vote of 247
to 176, a 35-vote margin which is an improvement over the 39-vote margin in
January on a very similar bill. Our friends in Congress tell us that we are
making progress on this issue so pro-lifers should be encouraged but remain
vigilant. The Senate must now decide whether to override or sustain the
President’s veto. In the Senate a veto override requires a 2/3 majority
of those present to vote.
Pro-lifers are hopeful
that the Senate will sustain the veto, but even if the veto is upheld there are
concerns that members of Congress will try to add these unethical stem cell
funding provisions to other important legislation as
Sen. Harkin has suggested.
Embryonic stem cell
research is both immoral and unnecessary.
Unfortunately many in Congress want to spend your tax dollars on it anyway.
Proponents of the measure frequently exaggerate claims about the necessity and
usefulness of embryonic stem cells, but in addition to its highly questionable
usefulness the fundamental problem is that such research destroys human lives.
For important information on stem cell research and other bioethics issues
visit the stem cell page and adult stem cell page.
To see how your senators and representative voted on this bill check the Vote Watch page.
Now that President Bush has vetoed the legislation it will soon return to the
Senate and will only come back to the House if the Senate manages to override
the veto. Pray that this bill never becomes law and that liberals in Congress
will not try to sneak this type of unethical stem cell language into other
legislation.