Bush to Veto Stem Cell Bill for the Second Times

President Bush, who was on until recently not known for vetoing bills, is now dusting up his veto pen for the third times-one on the Iraq war supplemental bill and twice on the stem cell bill- an issue where ethics, politics and science crash.

Going against the Democratic-led congress that campaigned last year on passing the stem cell bill, Bush plans to veto the bill today (Wednesday). It is a bill that would have removed controls on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

In a report filed by an Associated Press Staff reporter, a White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, " The president supports and encourages stem cell research, including using embryonic lines, as long as it does not involve creating, harming or destroying embryos," he further said, "That is an ethical line that should not be crossed."

In the same report, Bush is expected to issue an executive order mandating the Health and Human Services Department to encourage research into stem cells that, like human embryonic stem cells, also bear the possibility of renewing into different types of cells that might be used to cure disease.

The president in his veto threat, accused the Democrats of reprocessing an old bill that he already vetoed and argued that the bill would mean American taxpayer could be forced for the first time to support a measure that deliberately destroy human embryos.

The president's spokesman said the president would provide federal fund for research on additional "pluripotent" stem cells-a measure that supporters say it would give rise to any kind of cell in the body beside those required to develop fetus.

Reacting to the veto threat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called on the president to sign the bill and not veto it. He pointed out that the bill took care of the ethical concern and offers even stringent research guidelines than exist under the president's current measure.

Also reacting to the bill was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who used the veto threat in seeking contributions to the DCCC to help elect Democrats.