President Bush, unfortunately, continues to play politics with science.
For the second time in 11 months, he has vetoed legislation that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Bush said taxpayers should not have to pay for research that involves the destruction of human embryos. What he failed to acknowledge is that the embryos in question from fertility clinics were slated for the garbage can anyway.
Rather than help advance a promising science, Bush is playing to his political base, which opposes the research.
Congressional lawmakers likely don’t have the votes to override the veto, but after the hard-fought battles of the last two years, they’re bound to give it a try.
Congress passed the stem-cell legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., with broad bipartisan support. Most Americans support it because embryonic stem-cell research holds promise for treating or curing disease and disabilities that afflict millions of people.
Nancy Reagan has lobbied for the bill in the name of her husband, the late President Ronald Reagan, who died of Alzheimer’s. And Republican presidential candidates Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani have both said they would lift Bush’s ban on federal funding if elected.
Bush made it obvious after his Wednesday veto that he is aware of the public’s support, issuing an executive order that sought to support all forms of stem-cell research that don’t involve the destruction of embryos. We certainly believe the science should be pursued from every angle, but Bush should not impede research by restricting federal funding only to those programs that conform with his own religious beliefs.
The president also reminded people that, starting in June 2001, he allowed the National Institutes of Health to fund research into then-existing embryonic stem-cell lines – but not any new lines. Scientists say many of the existing lines have been contaminated and are no longer good for research. About $130 million has been spent on the authorized work, Bush said, and $3 billion in total on all forms of stem-cell research.
Even though several states, including California, are making efforts to fund embryonic stem-cell research, bill supporters fear the United States will fall behind as a scientific leader in this area without federal funding. That alone should not be a reason for Congress to pursue the matter. The real reason is that continued research would give new hope to the millions of Americans suffering from currently incurable illnesses and disabilities.
