Bush vows first veto for stem-cell bill

President Bush, who has never issued a veto, yesterday threatened to veto a bill that would increase public funding for stem-cell research, which requires the destruction of human embryos.

“I will veto it,” Mr. Bush told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The president said he strongly opposes “the use of federal money — taxpayers’ money — to promote science which destroys life in order to save life.”

His remarks, hours after he twice used the late Pope John Paul II’s phrase “culture of life” at the Second National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, were swiftly denounced by Democrats.

“The president’s threat to veto legislation on bipartisan stem-cell research demonstrates how out of touch he is with the priorities of the American people,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

“Veto threats like that,” he added, “show how beholden the White House is to the radical right wing of the GOP.”

Mr. Bush opposes embryonic stem-cell research because it entails the destruction of fertilized eggs, which he believes constitute human life. So, in 2001, he limited federal funding to lines of embryonic stem cells already in existence.

But that limit would be repealed by a House bill backed by Rep. Michael N. Castle of Delaware. Although Mr. Castle is a Republican, his bill is opposed by the White House.

“We cannot cross a fundamental moral line,” said Deputy White House Press Secretary Trent Duffy, “about using public money to support the destruction of human life. The issue with the Castle bill is it does break that principle.”

Advocates of the Castle bill counter that the research could lead to medical breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases.

“Embryonic stem-cell research provides us the hope of new cures and therapies,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “President Bush has made the wrong choice, putting politics ahead of safe, responsible science.”

The White House hopes Mr. Bush’s veto threat will limit the number of Republicans supporting Mr. Castle’s bill. Other influential Republicans, including former first lady Nancy Reagan, support increased funding for embryonic stem-cell research.

But the White House cautioned against viewing embryonic stem-cell research as a panacea.

“It also may be unnecessary at this point, because there are methods in the scientific community that might give us the ability to extract stem cells from human embryos without their destruction, or to obtain stem cells some other way that would fit within the president’s program,” Mr. Duffy said.

Republican leaders have advised members to vote their consciences on the Castle bill, raising the possibility that Congress could override a presidential veto. They also recently decided it was necessary to offer an alternative to Mr. Castle’s bill.

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