The Hypocricy of Preserving Life

President Bush chose to exercise his veto power for the first time in his presidency, striking down Congress' attempt to allow the federal funding of stem cell research. His reasoning...morality. Using embryos for stem cell research is, in President Bush's mind, immoral because it terminates a human life.

President Bush is putting his personal beliefs before the will of Congress and the 58% of Americans (ABCNews) who believe it is time to push forward with stem cell research. The sanctity of life--unborn, unused, sitting frozen somewhere embryo--is more important than the potential to remove the suffering, and save the lives, of thousands of people.

That is how important the sanctity of life is to President Bush.

So important that 152 people (7:30pm EDT, December 7, 2000) were put to death by the state of Texas while Bush was governor. More people were executed on Bush's watch than any other governor is US history (CUADP).

So important that "A total of 5,818 civilians were reportedly killed and at least 5,762 wounded during May and June 2006," the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq report stated (Reuters), and according to Iraq Body Count between 33,000 and 43,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the violence started by President Bush's war on terror.

So important that 330 Lebanese and 34 Israelis have been killed in the last ten days while the United States has just watched (All Headline News).

So important that US citizens living in Lebanon have been told they must pay for their own passage out of a war zone (US Embassy in Beirut). A war zone the US, in its official refusal to call for a cease fire, condones (Yahoo! News).

So important that, after five years of ignoring the NAACP's invitation to speak, President Bush finally speaks to the NAACP. How many African Americans had to die in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to make accepting the invitation politically important enough?

Clearly, the sanctity of life is of incredible, policy-shaping importance. The amazing thing is that some are worried the veto will help Bush with his base. Kevin Drum, of Washington Monthly, asks, "can we all please stop emphasizing that this was his first veto? I mean, he must be loving this. His first veto ever, and it's over stem cells! The morality of human life is his highest priority! It's exactly the message he wants to send to his base, and there's no reason for us to help him deliver it."

No, we can't stop. Indeed, this should be shouted from every rooftop. President Bush needs to know that one symbolic act does not erase the lifetime of neglect he has shown human life.