Bush Veto on Stem Cell a Moral Victory

Last Wednesday President Bush vetoed the second stem cell research bill to pass his desk in less than a year.  Conservatives praised his actions last July and again this time striking down a bill that if passed would have allocated taxpayer dollars to embryonic stem cell research.

This victory is not only a Republican one but also one for all who believe in the ethical use of scientific discovery. If there is one issue the President has been consistent on it is his view on creating experimenting with and destroying human embryos for the sake of science. Of his latest veto Bush commented: “I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line.”

The moral line is crossing over from an ethical position of supporting and saving life to the unethical position of sacrificing one life to save another.

In fact embryonic stem cells are not the only viable option for research although the congressional liberals have misled the public into believing otherwise. Currently much research is being conducted with the stem cells gathered from umbilical cords placentas amniotic fluid and even adult stem cells. 

As Gary Bauer in his email column American Values points out in his support of the veto:  These cells “show just as much and in many cases more promise for cures.”  Presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback have stood by the President’s decision to veto; while scores of liberals such as Hillary Barack and John Edwards jumped at the chance to call Bush’s competency into question as though America is not tired of that just yet.  Many congressional liberals have pledged to keep introducing stem cell research legislation hoping that a pro-embryonic stem cell President will surface eventually.

The problem is that we already have a pro-stem cell President  President Bush who is just not interested in using embryonic stem cells to sacrifice innocent lives. What congressional liberals refuse to acknowledge is the many other useful kinds of stem cells other than embryonic cells; those cells are ethically obtained and do not destroy life.  Those supporting embryonic stem cells are proposing the destruction of the embryos to harvest the stems or the equivalent of abortion.  

As President Reagan once stated with incisive perception “Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”  Had embryonic cell research been acceptable practice before the birth of these congressional liberals then the advocates of embryonic cell research might not be around today to advocate for the destruction of embryos.

Please join me in celebrating the victory of this veto as well as constant prayer for this issue which will certainly surface again.  Next time we may not have the benefit of a President who knows where to draw the line.

Gina Parker Ford !CEO of Dental Creations Ltd. a dental manufacturing company and a successful attorney ! is the National Eagle Forum Chairman for Judicial Reform.  Mrs. Ford also served as a Bush and Perry appointee to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. www.ginaparker.net.