Research on embryonic stem cells is controversial in the USA, where it is opposed by many so-called “pro-life” supporters – mainly Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants. These opponents object to the consequent destruction of embryos used in the research, but these embryos are ones that would be destroyed in any case as surplus to requirements in fertility treatments. Advocates of the research say that it may lead to many advances in medical science, with a possibility of finding eventual cures for distressing diseases such as Parkinson’s, cancer and heart disease.

In the most recent congressional elections in the USA, the Democratic Party gained control of both houses of Congress. The new Congress passed a bill to expand federal funding for stem cell research, reversing the position of the previously Republican-controlled legislature. The bill has not passed into law, because in June President Bush vetoed it. He has made it clear that his position against stem cell research is greatly influenced by his religious faith – a position that many do not share.

The American Humanist Association criticised the President’s stance. Executive Director Roy Speckhardt accused him of seeking to impose a narrow religious ideology, to the detriment of millions suffering from debilitating or life-threatening illness, and against the wishes of the vast majority of Americans and contrary to the spirit of the separation of church and state. With this veto (only the third of his presidency) he had placed greater value on small clusters of cells than on fully formed adults.