Beautiful

Bush said he supports science, but also believes that "all human life is sacred."

If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers for the first time in our history to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos," Bush told a gathering of supporters at the White House shortly after vetoing the measure. "I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I would not allow our nation to cross this moral line."

The president said he also signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to explore alternatives to human embryonic stem cells.

Bush said those alternatives can allow Americans to "advance science and at the same time uphold our moral values."

"Destroying human life in the hopes of saving life is not ethical," Bush said. "And it is not the only option before us."

Opponents of the latest bill insisted that the use of embryonic stem cells was the wrong approach on moral grounds — and possibly not even the most promising one scientifically. These opponents cite breakthroughs involving medical research conducted with adult stem cells, umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid, none of which involve the destruction of a human embryo.