Bush vows to veto Senate stem cell bill

House expected to approve a similar measure in the weeks ahead

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updated 8:29 a.m. ET April 12, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush remains opposed to easing restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, vowing to veto a measure the Senate hopes will lead to new medical treatments.

"This bill crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling," Bush said in a statement Wednesday after the Senate voted 63-34 to pass the measure. "If it advances all the way through Congress to my desk, I will veto it."

The Senate bill, which is much like the one Bush killed last year with the only veto of his presidency thus far, would provide federal funding for the research.

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While freeing the research of many restrictions, the bill fell short of a veto-proof margin needed to enact the law over Bush's objections. The House is expected to approve a similar measure in the weeks ahead.

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"Unleash America's scientists," urged Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Added Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.: "Not every day do we have the opportunity to vote to heal the sick."

Bush and others see the research as destroying life because it involves the destruction of embryos. Many favor the alternative of research into adult stem cells, though many scientists say they lack the promise of embryonic stem cells.