THE VETO

As promised, he did it.
President Bush vetoed H.R. 810, the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005."

The Democrats are responding with demagoguery and insanity.

Ted Kennedy:

“With his swift veto today, the President may think he has put the issue of stem cell research behind him. He may think it is closed and forgotten.

But, Mr. President, it is not over for the child with diabetes who struggles with endless injections of insulin.

It is not over for those who must watch helplessly as a parent or spouse succumbs to the tremors of Parkinson's Disease.

It is not over for those in wheelchairs who dream of walking again cannot simply move on to other concerns.

Mr. President, we are here to say that as long as there is a need for the hope and help that stem cell research can bring, it will never be forgotten. As long as restrictions based on a narrow ideology block progress to new cures, this issue will never be closed.

Mr. President, you can veto a bill, but you can't veto hope.

We will be back again and again and again until we end the cruel restrictions on lifesaving research that are denying hope to millions of American patients and their families.”

Harry Reid:

“This president has been in office for nearly six years and has never vetoed anything, not even billion dollar handouts for companies like Enron and Exxon. It is unconscionable that the president used his first veto to deal a devastating blow to the thousands of Nevadans who could have benefited from the hope stem cell research provides,” said Reid.

It took five years to achieve Tuesday’s bipartisan Senate passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810):

August 2001: President Bush issues an Executive Order restricting stem cell research

May 2005: House of Representatives passes H.R. 810

July 2006: After fourteen months of pushing for a Senate vote on H.R. 810, the bill receives bipartisan support and passes by a margin of 63-37.

“The passage of this bill was a huge victory for Nevadans who are suffering from spinal injuries and devastating illnesses including diabetes and Parkinson’s. Today should be a day of celebration, but instead, it’s a day of sadness because the president dashed the hopes of so many people in a matter of minutes.” added Reid.

Reid, determined to keep hope alive for the thousands of Nevadans who could benefit from this vital research, is now calling on his colleagues who support H.R. 810 to help override President Bush’s veto. Yesterday, after the Senate vote, forty one Democrats sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader and Doctor Bill Frist, urging him to immediately begin work with his Republican colleagues to organize this important effort. A copy of the letter is attached to this release.

Tom Harkin said that the veto was a "shameful display of cruelty, hypocrisy, and ignorance.

Tom Harkin went on to call Bush an "ayatollah" for vetoing the bill. That's really going over the line.

From Bloomberg:

Harkin, a Democrat and one of the measure's sponsors, said Bush was setting himself up as a "moral ayatollah."

The veto is not based on constitutional or legal objections, Harkin said. "He is vetoing it because he says he believes it is immoral," Harkin said. "Mr. President, you are not our moral ayatollah, maybe the president nothing more."

"Maybe the president"?

With all due respect, Harkin is nuts.

George W. Bush IS the president. Moreover, I would argue that there is a constitutional and legal basis for objecting to a bill that allows for the wholesale destruction of human life.

The Dems' reactions are not surprising.

I am surprised that more Dems haven't rushed to issue statements on the veto. It's not like they didn't see it coming.

Read the remarks that President Bush made this afternoon after he signed one bill concerning the use of stem cells in research and vetoed another.

(Excerpts)

Like all Americans, I believe our nation must vigorously pursue the tremendous possibility that science offers to cure disease and improve the lives of millions. We have opportunities to discover cures and treatments that were unthinkable generations ago. Some scientists believe that one source of these cures might be embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized adult tissues, and this may give them the potential to replace damaged or defective cells or body parts and treat a variety of diseases.

Yet we must also remember that embryonic stem cells come from human embryos that are destroyed for their cells. Each of these human embryos is a unique human life with inherent dignity and matchless value. We see that value in the children who are with us today. Each of these children 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. Each of these children was adopted while still an embryo, and has been blessed with the chance to grow up in a loving family.

These boys and girls are not spare parts. They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And they remind us that in our zeal for new treatments and cures, America must never abandon our fundamental morals.

Some people argue that finding new cures for disease requires the destruction of human embryos like the ones that these families adopted. I disagree. I believe that with the right techniques and the right policies, we can achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical responsibilities. That's what I sought in 2001, when I set forth my administration's policy allowing federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines where the life and death decision had already been made.

This balanced approach has worked. Under this policy, 21 human embryonic stem cell lines are currently in use in research that is eligible for federal funding. Each of these lines can be replicated many times. And as a result, the National Institutes of Health have helped make more than 700 shipments to researchers since 2001. There is no ban on embryonic stem cell research. To the contrary, even critics of my policy concede that these federally funded lines are being used in research every day by scientists around the world. My policy has allowed us to explore the potential of embryonic stem cells, and it has allowed America to continue to lead the world in this area.

Since I announced my policy in 2001, advances in scientific research have also shown the great potential of stem cells that are derived without harming human embryos. My administration has expanded the funding of research into stem cells that can be drawn from children, adults, and the blood in umbilical cords, with no harm to the donor. And these stem cells are already being used in medical treatments.

With us today are patients who have benefited from treatments with adult and umbilical-cord-blood stem cells. And I want to thank you all for coming.

They are living proof that effective medical science can also be ethical. Researchers are now also investigating new techniques that could allow doctors and scientists to produce stem cells just as versatile as those derived from human embryos. One technique scientists are exploring would involve reprogramming an adult cell. For example, a skin cell to function like an embryonic stem cell. Science offers the hope that we may one day enjoy the potential benefits of embryonic stem cells without destroying human life.

...If this bill would have become law, American taxpayers would, for the first time in our history, be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of human embryos. And I'm not going to allow it.

I made it clear to the Congress that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line. I felt like crossing this line would be a mistake, and once crossed, we would find it almost impossible to turn back. Crossing the line would needlessly encourage a conflict between science and ethics that can only do damage to both, and to our nation as a whole. If we're to find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways. So today, I'm keeping the promise I made to the American people by returning this bill to Congress with my veto.

As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology, it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human dignity. Our conscience and history as a nation demand that we resist this temptation. America was founded on the principle that we are all created equal, and endowed by our Creator with the right to life. We can advance the cause of science while upholding this founding promise. We can harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology. And we can ensure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other way around.

America pursues medical advances in the name of life, and we will achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life. I believe America's scientists have the ingenuity and skill to meet this challenge. And I look forward to working with Congress and the scientific community to achieve these great and noble goals in the years ahead.

Take note.

This is how a real leader acts. He does what he believes should be done. He doesn't wilt under political pressure.

The Left will say he's the puppet of the Religious Right. I love it that Bush doesn't seem to care what his critics say.

Criticism and approval ratings don't determine the course he takes. His principles do.

I applaud the President for vetoing a bill that would have allowed MORE federal funds to be spent on research that demands the destruction of human embryos.

Some facts that must be remembered:

--Bush did not outlaw stem cell research.

--Bush did not ban embryonic stem cell research.

--Bush did not eliminate federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

--There are no restrictions on the private sector to do stem cell research.