Bush adopts the so-called moral high ground and chooses to ignore scientific advice

Jul 20 2006

The American President George W. Bush has used his presidential veto for the first time to block further federal taxpayers money from being used for embryonic stem-cell research.

In doing so George Bush has adopted what he sees as the moral high ground saying such research 'crosses a moral line between science and ethics that can only do damage to both'.

Speaking in Washington President Bush declared that the proposed law would have supported ' the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others and it crosses a real moral boundary that our society needs to respect.'

In an attempt to emphasise his point he appeared yesterday with 18 families who had 'adopted' frozen embryos discarded by other couples which were subsequently used to impregnate women

But in doing so he may himself have crossed some sort of moral boundary, as such an emotive viewpoint, may to many, smack of emotional blackmail with scant scientific basis.

The embryos in question are derived from fertility clinics, where eggs and sperm are joined together in lab dishes and many more are created than can ever be implanted in womens' wombs; the thousands of embryos not used are discarded.

Such stem cells are taken from a ball of cells known as a blastocyst, which develops five to seven days after conception and cannot become a fetus.

Had the bill succeeded the expanded government funding would have greatly enhanced stem cell research into many chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and Parkinson's.

Opponents say the current U.S. restrictions, where government money is barred from supporting work on new lines derived from human embryos, hampers overall research and is hindering world efforts to develop therapies for a range of diseases and illnesses.

Many in both parties believe the issue transcends divisions over abortion rights and even staunch anti-abortionists back broader federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.

American public opinion too broadly supports more funding for such research and many people who disapprove of abortion say they do not disapprove of experimenting on embryos which would otherwise be discarded, and few can find justification in destroying thousands of in vitro eggs as medical waste.

Democrats and some within Mr. Bush's own party are dismayed over Mr Bush's stance and many such as Senator Edward Kennedy have vowed to take up the legislation again.

Even Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader has said that history may well compare Mr Bush to those who had imprisoned Galileo and laughed at the idea of electricity, and who look 'absolutely ridiculous' today.

Other have accused Bush of emotional blackmail and inconsistency and he appears to have placed himself at odds with America's top scientists and many within his own party.