[Senate Document 110-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




110th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - Senate Document 110-7

 
                               VETO--S. 5

                                (PM 18)

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                               returning

  WITHOUT MY APPROVAL S. 5, THE STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 
                                  2007




                 June 20, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
To the Senate of the United States:
    I am returning herewith without my approval S. 5, the 
``Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007.''
    Once again, the Congress has sent me legislation that would 
compel American taxpayers, for the first time in our history, 
to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.
    In 2001, I announced a policy to advance stem cell research 
in a way that is ambitious, ethical, and effective. I became 
the first President to make Federal funds available for 
embryonic stem cell research, and my policy did this in ways 
that would not encourage the destruction of embryos. Since 
then, my Administration has made more than $130 million 
available for research on stem cell lines derived from embryos 
that had already been destroyed. We have also provided more 
than $3 billion for research on all forms of stem cells, 
including those from adult and other non-embryonic sources.
    This careful approach is producing results. It has 
contributed to proven therapeutic treatments in thousands of 
patients with many different diseases. And it is opening the 
prospect of new discoveries that could transform lives. 
Researchers are now developing promising new techniques that 
offer the potential to produce pluripotent stem cells, without 
having to destroy human life--for example, by reprogramming 
adult cells to make them function like stem cells.
    Technical innovation in this difficult area is opening up 
new possibilities for progress without conflict or ethical 
controversy. Researchers pursuing these kinds of ethically 
responsible advances deserve support, and there is legislation 
in the Congress to give them that support. Bills supporting 
alternative research methods achieved majority support last 
year in both the House and the Senate. Earlier this spring 
another bill supporting alternative research won overwhelming 
majority support in the Senate, and I call on House leaders to 
pass similar legislation that would authorize additional funds 
for ethical stem cell research. We cannot lose the opportunity 
to conduct research that would give hope to those suffering 
from terrible diseases and help move our Nation beyond the 
controversies over embryo destruction. I invite policymakers 
and scientists to come together to solve medical problems 
without compromising either the high aims of science or the 
sanctity of human life.
    S. 5, like the bill I vetoed last year, would overturn 
today's carefully balanced policy on stem cell research. 
Compelling American taxpayers to support the deliberate 
destruction of human embryos would be a grave mistake. I will 
not allow our Nation to cross this moral line. For that reason, 
I must veto this bill.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, June 20, 2007.

                                  
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