Bush set to veto stem-cell bill

WASHINGTON – US President George W. Bush is likely to wield his veto pen for the first time this week, if, as expected, Congress passes legislation expanding federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.

The Senate was due yesterday and today to debate three separate stem-cell bills, but the main one, the controversial Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, would lift rules set by Bush in 2001 limiting federal money to research on existing embryonic stem-cell lines. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, an umbrella organisation of patient advocacy, research and scientific groups planned a Capitol Hill news conference Monday urging passage of the bill, saying stem-cell research could lead to cures for life-threatening illnesses and disabling ailments.”If this bill does not pass, we not only risk the lives and well-being of millions of Americans and their families, we also risk losing Americas leadership position in the fields of science and medicine,” the coalition said in a statement.The coalition includes organisations battling Parkinson’s disease and juvenile diabetes, as well as the Christopher Reeve Foundation, founded by the late “Superman” actor after a spinal cord injury left him paralysed from the neck down.Many scientists say they need the legislation so they can access stem cells from donated frozen embryos left over after fertility treatments, and point out that embryonic stem cells can form all of the different tissue types found in the human body.But US President George W.Bush, from the very start of his presidency, has firmly stated his opposition to stem-cell research on moral grounds.- Nampa-AFPThe Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, an umbrella organisation of patient advocacy, research and scientific groups planned a Capitol Hill news conference Monday urging passage of the bill, saying stem-cell research could lead to cures for life-threatening illnesses and disabling ailments.”If this bill does not pass, we not only risk the lives and well-being of millions of Americans and their families, we also risk losing Americas leadership position in the fields of science and medicine,” the coalition said in a statement.The coalition includes organisations battling Parkinson’s disease and juvenile diabetes, as well as the Christopher Reeve Foundation, founded by the late “Superman” actor after a spinal cord injury left him paralysed from the neck down.Many scientists say they need the legislation so they can access stem cells from donated frozen embryos left over after fertility treatments, and point out that embryonic stem cells can form all of the different tissue types found in the human body.But US President George W.Bush, from the very start of his presidency, has firmly stated his opposition to stem-cell research on moral grounds.- Nampa-AFP