From an interesting, fairly even-handed report in The Washington Post. A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would expand government-funded embryonic stem cell research. The president's response?

"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 during a picture-taking session with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

I wonder what the political fallout would be if the president decides to use his veto pen for the first time ever to restrict stem cell research? For his part, co-sponsor Mike Castle isn't backing down. He insists that the bill is in line with the president's original compromise on the subject: that is, make a limited number of cell lines derived from harvested and already dead embryos available for research.

Castle said his legislation in essence lifts the cutoff date of Bush's policy to allow federally funded research on stem cell lines "derived ethically from donated embryos determined to be in excess."

"Under no circumstances does this legislation allow for the creation of embryos for research nor does it fund the destruction of embryos," Castle said.