Even with all our wonderful checks and balances, ONE man can still make
a BIG difference. Remember LBJ's 'police action' - we never really
declared war - never really had to. 58,000 US lives wasn't
it? I sure hope for 67 votes to set this right.
O'C
In a message dated 7/19/2006 2:20:22 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The president had long vowed to veto the bill because
of his deeply
held moral beliefs that destroying human
life is wrong -- even in its
earliest form, and even
in the interest of research that could lead
to
potentially life-saving medical breakthroughs.
Does Bush think that the embryos
that are NOT going to be used in stem cell research will never be
destroyed? Perhaps we need to make this point clearer to our
congresspersons so they will over ride the veto.
Bill age 55
C6 Incomplete
since 7/20/68
Leesburg, FL
I personally don't mind growing old, but my
body's taking it badly.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 4:50
PM
Subject: [QUAD-L] Stem Cell Bill
Killed
Bush uses first-ever veto to kill stem cell bill
32
minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) -
US President George W.
Bush
used his veto for the first time since taking office,
blocking a
bill that would have expanded federal
funding for embryonic stem cell
research.
"It crosses a moral boundary that our decent
society
needs to respect, so I vetoed it," Bush said in
remarks at the
White House, saying that in rejecting
the legislation he is "keeping the
promise I made to
the American people.
"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,"
said
Bush.
"Our conscience and history as a nation demand that
we
resist this temptation," Bush said.
The stem cell research
endorsed by the Senate on
Tuesday would have used embryos -- some
consisting of
just a handful of cells -- left over from in
vitro
fertilization (IVF) procedures.
The president had long vowed
to veto the bill because
of his deeply held moral beliefs that destroying
human
life is wrong -- even in its earliest form, and even
in the
interest of research that could lead to
potentially life-saving medical
breakthroughs.
Bush made the announcement at a White House
signing
ceremony for alternative bioethics legislation known
as "The
Fetus Farming Prohibition Act," making it a
crime to initiate a pregnancy
for the sole purpose of
obtaining human organs or tissue for
research.
Present for the announcement were several families
with
"snowflake babies" -- children conceived via
donated embryos left over
from IVF treatments.
The president vetoed the Stem Cell
Research
Enhancement Act despite widespread support by the US
public
and ardent backers in Congress, who on
Wednesday urged Bush to reconsider
his stance.
Stem cell research advocates say the technique
shows
promise for the treatment of degenerative diseases
such as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and for diabetes.
The bill would have
lifted rules set by Bush in 2001
making federal funds available only for
research on a
small number of embryonic stem cell lines which
existed
at that time.
Government money is barred from supporting work on
new
lines derived from human embryos -- a restriction that
opponents
say hampers overall research.
In London, Martin Rees, the president
of the Royal
Society -- Britain's de facto academy of sciences --
said
the US policy "is slowing down the global effort
to develop therapies for
a range of diseases and
illnesses."
"If the present restrictions
remain, it would surely
mean that the United States will continue to
fall
behind in this important and exciting area,"
said
Rees.
The Senate approved the measure by a 63-37 vote --
a
margin too small to override a presidential veto.
Nevertheless, 41
Senate Democrats sent a letter to
Majority Leader Bill Frist, urging him
to lobby
support among congressional Republicans to overturn
Bush's
veto.
"We are pleased that you supported this
important
legislation and know that you recognize the
enormous
potential of this research for discovering new cures
and
therapies for diseases such as diabetes,
Parkinsons disease and spinal
cord injuries.
"The only chance for overriding this veto rests
with
you and the Republican caucuses in the House and
the
Senate.
"Millions of patients and their families across
the
nation cannot afford to wait any longer for the
enactment of this
urgently needed legislation," the
Democratic lawmakers wrote.
"We
are counting on your leadership to help ensure
that this legislation
becomes law so that we may
finally clear the way for research that could
lead to
treatments and cures for so many debilitating disease
and
conditions," Democrats
wrote.
__________________________________________________
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