Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Funding

George Bush has used his presidential veto for the first time to defeat a bill that would have greatly expanded government funding for stem cell research.

The proposed law, he said in Washington yesterday, would have supported "the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a real moral boundary that our society needs to respect."

The Senate passed the bill by 63 votes to 37 on Tuesday. Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader, said history would liken Mr Bush to those who had imprisoned Galileo and scoffed at the idea of electricity, and who look "absolutely ridiculous" today.

American public opinion broadly supports more funding for the research, which would have affected thousands of embryos already slated for destruction at fertility clinics across the country.

But Mr Bush appeared yesterday with 18 families who had "adopted" frozen embryos discarded by other couples but subsequently used to have children.

"Each of these children was adopted while still an embryo and has been blessed with a chance to grow, to grow up in a loving family," Mr Bush said. "These boys and girls are not spare parts."