Bush casts his first veto on stem-cell bill

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) President George W Bush cast his first veto blocking legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research and putting him at odds with top scientists, most Americans, and some fellow Republicans.

The legislation had passed by a strong bipartisan majority in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, but House backers yesterday could not muster the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. The vote was 235 to 193.

The stem-cell debate has become an issue in several of the Senate contests that will be decided in the November congressional elections and it may be a factor in the 2008 presidential contest.

The veto fulfilled a Bush promise made to social conservatives whose votes his Republican Party will need in November to help keep control of the Senate and House.

''It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it,'' Bush said.

The issue also splits the party before the mid-term election as it is already struggling with Bush's low approval ratings and bitter divisions over other issues, such as immigration.

Even staunch anti-abortion rights conservatives are divided the ethics of embryonic stem cell research.

Reuters YA GC0432