Bush rejects stem cell bill with his first veto

By Richard Benedetto and Andrea Stone, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Bush issued his first veto in 5½ years in office Wednesday, rejecting a bill that would have overturned his policy limiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Bush's veto came in the face of strong public support for research and bipartisan congressional backing for the bill.

He announced the veto in a White House East Room ceremony with a gaggle of adopted babies, all from frozen embryos, behind him. Hours later, the House of Representatives fell short of the 286 votes needed to override Bush's veto. The vote was 235-193.

Bush has signed 1,130 bills since becoming president. Wednesday's veto and legislative action capped years of fierce, personal debate about science and morality that divided Bush's Republican Party and is already spilling into the fall elections.

"This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others," Bush told a group of 200 supporters. "It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it."

Bush said: "These boys and girls are not spare parts. They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research."