    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 19, 2006]
    [Pages 1421-1424]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act and Returning
    Without Approval to the House of Representatives the ``Stem Cell
    Research Enhancement Act of 2005''
    July 19, 2006

        Good afternoon. Congress has just passed and sent to my desk two
    bills concerning the use of stem cells in biomedical research. These
    bills illustrate both the promise and perils we face in the age of
    biotechnology. In this new era, our challenge is to harness the power of
    science to ease human suffering without sanctioning the practices that
    violate the dignity of human life.
        In 2001, I spoke to the American people and set forth a new policy
    on stem cell research that struck a balance between the needs of science
    and the demands of conscience. When I took office, there was no Federal
    funding for human embryonic stem cell research. Under the policy I
    announced 5 years ago, my administration became the first to make
    Federal funds available for this research, yet only on embryonic stem
    cell lines derived from embryos that had already been destroyed. My
    administration has made available more than $90 million for research on
    these lines. This policy has allowed important research to go forward
    without using taxpayer funds to encourage the further deliberate
    destruction of human embryos.
        One of the bills Congress has passed builds on the progress we have
    made over the last 5 years, so I signed it into law. Congress has also
    passed a second bill that attempts to overturn the balanced policy I
    set. This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the
    hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary
    that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it.
        Like all Americans, I believe our Nation must vigorously pursue the
    tremendous possibility that science offers to cure disease and improve
    the lives of millions. We have opportunities to discover cures and
    treatments that were unthinkable generations ago. Some scientists
    believe that one source of these cures might be embryonic stem cell
    research. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized
    adult tissues, and this may give them the potential to replace damaged
    or defective cells or body parts and treat a variety of diseases.
        Yet we must also remember that embryonic stem cells come from human
    embryos that are destroyed for their cells. Each of these human embryos
    is a unique human life with inherent dignity and matchless value. We see
    that value in the children who are with us today. Each of these children
    began his or her life as a frozen embryo that was created for in vitro
    fertilization but remained unused after the fertility treatments were
    complete. Each of these children was adopted while still an embryo and
    has been blessed with the chance to grow up in a loving family.
        These boys and girls are not spare parts. They remind us of what is
    lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us
    that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And they
    remind us that in our zeal for new

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    treatments and cures, America must never abandon our fundamental morals.
        Some people argue that finding new cures for disease requires the
    destruction of human embryos like the ones that these families adopted.
    I disagree. I believe that with the right techniques and the right
    policies, we can achieve scientific progress while living up to our
    ethical responsibilities. That's what I sought in 2001, when I set forth
    my administration's policy allowing Federal funding for research on
    embryonic stem cell lines where the life and death decision had already
    been made.
        This balanced approach has worked. Under this policy, 21 human
    embryonic stem cell lines are currently in use in research that is
    eligible for Federal funding. Each of these lines can be replicated many
    times. And as a result, the National Institutes of Health have helped
    make more than 700 shipments to researchers since 2001. There is no ban
    on embryonic stem cell research. To the contrary, even critics of my
    policy concede that these federally funded lines are being used in
    research every day by scientists around the world. My policy has allowed
    us to explore the potential of embryonic stem cells, and it has allowed
    America to continue to lead the world in this area.
        Since I announced my policy in 2001, advances in scientific research
    have also shown the great potential of stem cells that are derived
    without harming human embryos. My administration has expanded the
    funding of research into stem cells that can be drawn from children,
    adults, and the blood in umbilical cords, with no harm to the donor. And
    these stem cells are already being used in medical treatments. With us
    today are patients who have benefited from treatments with adult and
    umbilical-cord blood stem cells. And I want to thank you all for coming.
        They are living proof that effective medical science can also be
    ethical. Researchers are now also investigating new techniques that
    could allow doctors and scientists to produce stem cells just as
    versatile as those derived from human embryos. One technique scientists
    are exploring would involve reprogramming an adult cell--for example, a
    skin cell--to function like an embryonic stem cell. Science offers the
    hope that we may one day enjoy the potential benefits of embryonic stem
    cells without destroying human life.
        We must continue to explore these hopeful alternatives and advance
    the cause of scientific research while staying true to the ideals of a
    decent and humane society. The bill I sign today upholds these humane
    ideals and draws an important ethical line to guide our research. The
    Fetus Farming Prohibition Act was sponsored by Senators
    Santorum and
    Brownback--both who are here--and by Congressman Dave Weldon, along with Nathan Deal.
    Thank you, Congressmen. This good law prohibits one of the most
    egregious abuses in biomedical research, the trafficking in human
    fetuses that are created with the sole intent of aborting them to
    harvest their parts. Human beings are not a raw material to be exploited
    or a commodity to be bought or sold, and this bill will help ensure that
    we respect the fundamental ethical line.
        I'm disappointed that Congress failed to pass another bill that
    would have promoted good research. This bill was sponsored by Senator
    Santorum and Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. Thanks for coming, Roscoe. It would have authorized
    additional Federal funding for promising new research that could produce
    cells with the abilities of embryonic cells but without the destruction
    of human embryos. This is an important piece of legislation. This bill
    was unanimously approved by the Senate; it received 273 votes in the
    House of Representatives but was blocked by a minority in the House
    using procedural maneuvers. I'm disappointed that the House failed to
    authorize funding for this vital and ethical research.
        It makes no sense to say that you're in favor of finding cures for
    terrible diseases

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    as quickly as possible and then block a bill that would authorize
    funding for promising and ethical stem cell research. At a moment when
    ethical alternatives are becoming available, 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 current
    controversies over embryonic stem cell research.
        We must pursue this research. And so I direct the Secretary of
    Health and Human Services, Secretary Leavitt, and the Director of the National Institutes of
    Health to use all the tools at their
    disposal to aid the search for stem cell techniques that advance
    promising medical science in an ethical and morally responsible way.
        Unfortunately, Congress has sent me a bill that fails to meet this
    ethical test. This legislation would overturn the balanced policy on
    embryonic stem cell research that my administration has followed for the
    past 5 years. This bill would also undermine the principle that Congress
    itself has followed for more than a decade, when it has prohibited
    Federal funding for research that destroys human embryos.
        If this bill would have become law, American taxpayers would, for
    the first time in our history, be compelled to fund the deliberate
    destruction of human embryos. And I'm not going to allow it.
        I made it clear to the Congress that I will not allow our Nation to
    cross this moral line. I felt like crossing this line would be a
    mistake, and once crossed, we would find it almost impossible to turn
    back. Crossing the line would needlessly encourage a conflict between
    science and ethics that can only do damage to both and to our Nation as
    a whole. If we're to find the right ways to advance ethical medical
    research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong
    ways. So today I'm keeping the promise I made to the American people by
    returning this bill to Congress with my veto.
        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. Our conscience and history as a nation demand that we
    resist this temptation. America was founded on the principle that we are
    all created equal and endowed by our Creator with the right to life. We
    can advance the cause of science while upholding this founding promise.
    We can harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to
    technology. And we can ensure that science serves the cause of humanity
    instead of the other way around.
        America pursues medical advances in the name of life, and we will
    achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift
    of life. I believe America's scientists have the ingenuity and skill to
    meet this challenge. And I look forward to working with Congress and the
    scientific community to achieve these great and noble goals in the years
    ahead.
        Thank you all for coming, and may God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:08 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to H.R. 810, the ``Stem Cell Research
    Enhancement Act of 2005.'' S. 3504, approved July 19, was assigned
    Public Law No. 109-242.

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