Democrats Slam Bush's Stem Cell Bill Veto

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., talks during a rally for stem cell research on Friday, July 21, 2006, in southeast Denver as President Bush made an appearance at a fundraising event in nearby Cherry Hills Village, Colo. Bush used his veto pen for the first time in his presidency on Wednesday on DeGette's bill for the stem cell research. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski - AP)

WASHINGTON -- A Colorado congresswoman said Saturday that President Bush was motivated by "cold, calculated, cynical political gain" when he vetoed a bill that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

"The president's veto had nothing to do with morals," Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said in the Democrats' weekly radio address, but instead "the kind of politics that snuffs out the candle of hope and that condemns the disabled and the sick."

DeGette and Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., co-sponsored the bill, which would allow federal funds to be used in research on embryos derived from fertility treatments that would otherwise be discarded.

Supporters, who include former first lady Nancy Reagan, say embryonic stem cell research could lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer and Parkinson's. However, the process destroys the embryo, considered a human life by many opponents of the research.

The bill passed the House last year and senators approved it Tuesday. Bush had made no secret of his opposition. On Wednesday he issued the first veto of his presidency, saying he did not want to destroy life in the name of science.

DeGette called Bush's veto "a sad sidebar in a debate that has been about ethical scientific research and hope."

DeGette said the embryos used would not be those that would have been for in-vitro fertilization but those that would be considered medical waste. "It makes more sense to allow them to be donated to give life and health to people in need," she said.

"The veto has backfired already, putting the spotlight on his stubborn resistance to facts," she said. "This last-gasp effort to stop stem cell research will be viewed by historians as a sign more of the weakness of the opponents than a roadblock to progress."