Wednesday, July 19, 2006

President Bush cast the first veto of his 5-1/2-year presidency Wednesday, rejecting legislation to ease limits on federal funding for research on stem cells obtained from embryos.

"This bill would support the taking of innocent human life of the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our society needs to respect, so I vetoed it," Bush said at a White House event where he was surrounded by 18 families who "adopted" frozen embryos that were not used by other couples, and then used those leftover embryos to have children.

"Each of these children was still adopted while still an embryo and has been blessed with a chance to grow, to grow up in a loving family. These boys and girls are not spare parts," he said.

[...]

Bush has supported federally funded research on only those stem cell lines created before Aug. 9, 2001, the date of his speech to the nation on the subject.

Veto []
The president has lifted his veto pen for the first time in defense of the sanctity of human life. And he just got an enthusiastic — standing ovation, cheering — reception announcing that at the White House, surrounded by "Snowflake " children ... former "surplus" IVF embryos.
Posted at 2:15 PM