[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Pages 1362-1365]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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.

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    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 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

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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 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

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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. S. 3504, approved July 19, was assigned Public Law No. 109-242.