WASHINGTON, July 19: US President George Bush on Wednesday used his veto for the first time since taking office, blocking a bill that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

“It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it,” Mr Bush said in remarks at the White House.

The president had long vowed to veto the bill because of his deeply held moral beliefs that destroying human life is wrong — even in its earliest form, and even in the interest of research that could lead to potentially life-saving medical breakthroughs.

The president has planned a White House signing ceremony for alternative bioethics legislation known as ‘The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act’.

The stem cell research endorsed by the Senate on Tuesday would have used leftover in vitro fertilisation (IVF) embryos, which opponents say is morally wrong because human life is destroyed in the process. The president vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act despite widespread support by the US public and ardent backers in Congress, who had urged Mr Bush to reconsider his stance.

The Senate approved the measure by a 63-37 vote — a margin too small to override a presidential veto.

Stem cell research advocates say the technique shows promise for the treatment of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and for diabetes.

The bill would have lifted rules set by Mr Bush in 2001 making federal funds available only for research on a small number of embryonic stem cell lines which existed at that time.

Government money is barred from supporting work on new lines derived from human embryos — a restriction that opponents say hampers overall research.

In London, Martin Rees, the president of the Royal Society — Britain’s de facto academy of sciences — said the US policy “is slowing down the global effort to develop therapies for a range of diseases and illnesses.” Democrats expressed dismay over Bush’s decision.

“With his swift veto today, the president may think he has put the issue of stem cell research behind him,” said Senator Ted Kennedy.

“But it is not over for the child with diabetes who struggles with endless injections of insulin. It is not over for those who must watch helplessly as a parent or spouse succumbs to the tremors of Parkinson’s disease,” said Ted Kennedy, a leading Democrat who vowed that lawmakers would take up the legislation again soon.—AFP