Hadassah urged President Bush not to veto a U.S. Senate bill that would fund embryonic stem cell research. Wednesday’s 63-34 vote fell just shy of the two-thirds majority that would override a veto. Bush said within hours of its passage that he would reject the bill if it passes the full Congress. “We congratulate the Senate on today’s vote and implore President Bush to reconsider his opposition to this legislation and sign it into law,” said Hadassah National President June Walker. “With such an enactment, the possibility of federal funding would dramatically increase the number of stem cell lines available for research and exponentially increase the potential of finding cures and treatment for intractable and debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. We consider President Bush’s support of this legislation a moral imperative.” Many Jewish groups back embryonic stem cell research. Bush supports another bill passed by the Senate, the Hope Act, which encourages producing stem cells without embryo creation or destruction. “I strongly support this bill, and I encourage the Congress to pass it and send it to me for my signature, so stem cell science can progress without ethical and cultural conflict,” the president said.
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