[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 23 (Monday, June 11, 2007)]
[Page 764]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on House of Representatives Action on Stem Cell Research 
Legislation

June 7, 2007

    Today the United States House of Representatives, with its vote on 
the embryonic stem cell bill, chose to discard existing protections on 
human life. This bill puts scientific research and ethical principle 
into conflict, rather than supporting a balanced approach that advances 
scientific and medical frontiers without violating moral principles.
    My administration has sought to understand the dilemmas of stem cell 
research not as a choice between science and ethics but as a challenge 
to advance medicine while meeting our solemn obligation to defend human 
life. That is why in 2001, I authorized the first Federal funding for 
research on embryonic stem cells, under careful safeguards. This policy 
encouraged ethical research, while requiring taxpayer funds not be used 
to support the creation, destruction, or harming of living human 
embryos.
    Recent scientific developments have reinforced my conviction that 
stem cell science can progress in ethical ways. Researchers have been 
investigating innovative techniques that could allow doctors and 
scientists to produce stem cells just as versatile as those derived from 
human embryos but without harming life, and the House vote on this bill 
took place just after significant advances in stem cell research were 
reported in leading scientific journals. These reports give us added 
hope that we may one day enjoy the potential benefits of embryonic stem 
cells without destroying human life.
    I am disappointed the leadership of Congress recycled an old bill 
that would simply overturn our country's carefully balanced policy on 
embryonic stem cell research. If this bill were to become law, American 
taxpayers would, for the first time in our history, be compelled to 
support the deliberate destruction of human embryos. Crossing that line 
would be a grave mistake. For that reason, I will veto the bill passed 
today.

Note: The statement referred to S. 5.