President Bush's decision to allow federal funding of research on human embryonic stem cells was not a pro-life decision and here's why.

We were all very hopeful when Bush affirmed that "human life is a sacred gift from our creator." But his decision to allow federally funded research on the existing embryonic stem cell lines contradicted his sanctity of human life belief. These existing stem cell lines came from human beings who were killed. Bush has effectively declared that some human lives may be sacrificed for others. While public money may not have paid for the killing, public money will be spent in order to benefit from those who were killed.

As Ken Connor of the Family Research Council so rightly pointed out, "If killing embryos is unacceptable in publicly funded institutions, how can it be moral when carried out in private laboratories?" Connor also keenly stated that "the issue will no longer be whether such research ought to be permitted, but rather how many cells lines are enough."

Bush's decision provides incentive for further killing. Reproduction technologists, just like everyone else, know that the so-called 60 lines will not be enough. Eventually scientists will demand for more and the cry will be louder. So why not have more stem cell lines available when the government is ready to buy again.

Bush promised that he would "oppose Federal funding for stem cell research that involves destroying live human embryos." Anyone who believes that he kept his promise has been seduced by Clintonian logic.

In Clinton's case, he was able to get federal funding for research on human embryos by circumventing a federal law called the Dickey Amendment, which has been in effect since 1996. This amendment stated that no public funds will be available for: "1. the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or 2. research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury…" (Everyone needs to urge Congress not to compromise in the renewal of this law.) Clinton got around this by authorizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to experiment on embryonic stem cells as long as the destruction of the human embryos was privately funded.

Having made a promise to stay clear of killing human embryos, Bush has resorted to the same untenable distinction in order to circumvent himself.

Aside from the distinctions between human embryos and stem cell lines, federal funding and private funding, the fundamental principle at stake is the dignity of the human person and an appreciation for the miracle of life. Human life is indeed a miracle and the miracle begins at the moment of conception. The uniquely human gifts of love, laughter, and joy are simply beyond the realm of science. The love, laughter, and joy of the human person are not accounted for in our genetic package. These qualities are not biochemical processes. They come from our Creator even when he allows procreation to take place in a laboratory. This is what it means to truly believe that "human life is a sacred gift from our creator."

There are many ways to be pro-abortion. There is only one way to be pro-life-that's being 100% pro-life. President Bush has failed to recognize the full dignity of the human person as he chose to sanction the sacrifice of human embryos.

Now there is a dark cloud over Bush's "deeply held beliefs." In the future, Americans who value the dignity of the human person will need to promote actions of conviction, not compromise.

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Mo Woltering is the Executive Director of the Human Family Foundation (www.rc.net/org/humanfamily/).