A kind of stem cell under the electronic microscope.(Xinhua Photo)BEIJING, July 18(Xinhuanet) -- The Bush administration Monday issued a statement in which it reconfirmed that President George W. Bush will veto the stem cell bill if the bill passes the vote in Senate.

The U.S. Senate is now under hot debate if the U.S. government will fund new embryonic stem cell research.

"The bill would compel all American taxpayers to pay for research that relies on the intentional destruction of human embryos for the derivation of stem cells, overturning the president's policy that funds research without promoting such ongoing destruction," the statement said. Bush said the practice forces a choice between science and ethics.

"Destroying nascent human life for research raises serious ethical problems, and many millions of Americans consider the practice immoral," it said.

The Senate is expected Monday to approve the bill, which would allow federal funding to go to research that uses embryos left over from fertility procedures.

"Rejecting [the bill] is a rejection of science. It's a rejection of the hopes of millions of patients," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat.

Embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into almost any cell in the body. Proponents of the research see great potential to cure a host of ailments. Enditem

(Agencies)