President Bush Condemns South Korea Human Cloning for Stem Cells Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 19, 2005
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Continuing his strong stance against human cloning and embryonic stem cell research, President Bush on Friday condemned an announcement by South Korea scientists that they have cloned and killed a human embryo to obtain its stem cells for research.
"I’m very concerned about cloning," Bush said during a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. "I worry about a world in which cloning would be acceptable."
Also at the meeting, Bush said he would veto a Congressional bill that would use taxpayer funds for unproven embryonic stem cell research.
"I’ve made it very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers’ money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life — I’m against that. And therefore if the bill does that, I will veto it," Bush told reporters.
White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy confirmed the president opposed the South Korean and British human cloning efforts.
"The president is opposed to that," Duffy said. "That represents exactly what we’re opposed to."
Meanwhile, at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Friday morning, President Bush received hearty applause when he told those attending that people should "pray that America uses the gift of freedom to build a culture of life."
"The best way to honor this great champion of human freedom is to continue to build a culture of life where the strong protect the weak," Bush said, recalling the strong pro-life legacy of former Pope John Paul II.
Bush also said he expected such policies to continue under new Pope Benedict XVI saying, Catholics "can take heart in the man who sits on the chair of St. Peter."
Bush has taken a strong stance against human cloning throughout his administration.
"To build a culture of life, we must also ensure that scientific advances always serve human dignity, not take advantage of some lives for the benefit of others," the president cautioned in his February 2005 State of the Union address.
He said human embryos should never be "created for experimentation or grown for body parts" and said science is at its best when "human life is never bought and sold as a commodity."