Bush Makes Stem Cell Veto Threat

(CBS/AP)  President Bush vowed Friday to veto bipartisan legislation that would ease restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and expressed deep concern about human cloning research in South Korea. It would be the first veto of his presidency.

The veto threat sets up a potential showdown between the president and the House of Representatives, which could vote as early as next week on a stem cell bill. The bill would permit federal funding for research on stem cells taken from days-old embryos stored in freezers at fertility clinics.

The more than two-dozen renegade House Republicans, who intend to vote for opening stem cell research on embryos that would otherwise be discarded, are led by Delaware Republican Mike Castle. He argues that the use of unwanted embryos should be morally acceptable, CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports, even to those opposed to abortion.

"These embryos are going to be disposed of anyhow and the question is how," Castle said. "Do you just throw it away or do you allow the improvement in health care for other people?"

The political and ethical questions surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells to find new cures for disease can be as perplexing as the science itself. Mr. Bush underscored his firm stance Friday.

But Mr. Bush condemned stem cell research advances in South Korea and said he worried about living in a world in which cloning was condoned. He also pledged to veto any legislation that loosened restrictions on using federal money to do research that involved creating life only to destroy it.

"I'm very concerned about cloning," Bush told reporters in the Oval Office. "I worry about a world in which cloning becomes acceptable."

"I made it very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money to promote science which destroys life in order to save life is — I'm against that. And therefore, if the bill does that, I will veto it."

The president's comments were aimed at putting the brakes on a bill gaining momentum on Capitol Hill.

But Mr. Bush may be treading into dangerous territory. CBS News Correspondent Gloria Borger reports that the most recent polls show that the majority of Republicans support federal funding for stem cell research.

The breakaway Republicans have even funded an ad, which touts the medical potential of embryonic research, Andrews reports. And they have the clout to force a vote, now scheduled for Tuesday.

Facing this reality, the President threatened a veto. But week's vote is a matter of conscience, not of party allegiance, reports CBS Senior Political Editor Dotty Lynch.

However, White House representatives say they think they have the votes to sustain the presidential veto.

That bill would initially lift Bush's ban on using federal dollars to do research on embryonic stem cell lines developed after August 2001. The president's veto threat drew immediate reaction from sponsors of the bipartisan bill, Reps. Castle and Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

Castle said the legislation would not allow the cloning of embryos or embryo destruction. Instead, it would let government-funded researchers work with stem cells culled from embryos left over from fertility treatments.

"The bottom line is when a couple has decided to discard their excess embryos, they are either going to be discarded as medical waste or they can be donated for research," Castle said.

DeGette protested, too. "It's disappointing that the president would threaten to use his first veto on a bill that holds promise for cures to diseases that affect millions of Americans," DeGette said. "Support for expanding federal stem cell research in an ethical manner remains strong in Congress."

The other big issue on Capitol Hill is coming to a head Tuesday, as a senator says he'll call for a judicial vote and prompt the filibuster showdown that's been eating up headlines for weeks.

Politics is competitive, and not only is the filibuster showdown contentious on the Hill, but pressure to match up internationally is rising, reports Andrews. This weeks astonishing breakthrough in Korea, where researchers virtually perfected techniques for taking stem cells from human clones, adds to the pressure. And to research scientists, this discovery — in a country not debating moral issues — puts America farther behind.

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