Bush to cast his first veto on stem-cell bill

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) President George W Bush will cast the first veto of his presidency today to stop legislation championed by top scientists and desired by most Americans to expand embryonic stem cell research, the White House said.

''The president has had a clear principled stand on this issue since August of 2001 and he has made clear from the beginning that if this bill came to him he would veto it and so this is what he's going to do today,'' spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The US Senate yesterday approved the legislation, which has also been passed by the House of Representatives. But neither chamber expects to have the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto.

The stem cell debate has emerged as an issue in several Senate races in the run-up to congressional elections this November and may be a factor in the 2008 presidential contest.

In 2001 Bush allowed scientists to use 78 stem-cell lines then in existence, most of which proved unsuitable for research. But Bush opposes expanded federally-funded research because it entails destruction of human embryos.

The new bill, supported by a clear majority of Americans in several polls, would allow federally funded research using excess embryos from fertility clinics, which would otherwise be thrown out.

Supporters say they should be used to search for cures for illnesses ranging from diabetes to paralysis.

Bush has scheduled an afternoon White House event to give his views on the issue.

Groups opposed to abortion rights have praised Bush's stance but some leading researchers and patient-advocacy groups, such as the Christopher Reeve Foundation and the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, urged Bush to reconsider.

''This bill allows important research to advance and creates an ethical framework that will ensure it is done appropriately,'' said Jim Greenwood, head of the Biotechnnology Industry Organization.

Bush has never used his veto and is the first president to complete four years in office without a veto since John Quincy Adams in the 1820s. He has threatened vetoes before but has refrained after reaching compromises with the Republican-controlled Congress.

REUTERS DKA PM1940