Its Time for a Presidential Veto
Last night, the United States Senate passed by a vote of 6334 the embryonic stem cell research bill. The Senate Bill S. 5 clears the way for the federal government using tax dollars to conduct research on stem cells taken from human embryos. In the process, the human embryo is destroyed. Our Government Affairs office has been working on a dual track on this issue. We have urged as many senators to vote against this bill as possible. Simultaneously, we have been working with the White House to urge a presidential veto.
We believe that President Bush will fulfill his promise to protect human life and veto this abhorrent piece of legislation that amounts to nothing more than a frontal assault on life. In our view, the legislation is morally and ethically unacceptable, and we are hopeful that an attempt to override the veto will fail. The need to protect the sanctity of human life has never been greater. That is why this dangerous legislation must be vetoed and the veto sustained in the Senate. Our Government Affairs staff is already working with members of the Senate to ensure that this expected veto is not overridden. At this point, it looks like we only have a one- or, at best, two-vote majority to allow the veto to stay in place. In addition to working with the Senate, our Government Affairs staff is working with the House of Representatives, as there will be a veto override attempt in the House as well.
We are at a critically important stage with this bill. The stem cell research bill, S. 30 which we supported also passed by a 70-28 vote. That bill allows for federal funding for adult stem cells, which requires no destruction of life whatsoever. While we were pleased with the Senate vote on S. 30, there are difficulties ahead for that legislation in the United States House. Therefore, most of our attention will turn to the veto.
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