Bush casts first veto to block stem cell bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush said on
Wednesday he used his first veto to block legislation expanding
embryonic stem cell research, putting him at odds with top
scientists, most Americans and some in his own Republican
Party.

“It crosses a moral boundary,” Bush said.

Bush acted after the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved the
legislation, which has also been passed by the House of
Representatives. But neither chamber expects to have the
two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

In 2001, Bush allowed scientists to use 78 stem-cell lines
then in existence, most of which proved unsuitable for
research. But he opposes expanded federally-funded research
because it entails destruction of human embryos.