The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to broaden federal support for embryonic stem cell research, stepping up a confrontation with President George W. Bush over a thorny scientific and ethical issue that Democrats hope to capitalize on in the next election.

The vote Thursday, 253 to 174, was not enough to overturn a likely presidential veto of the measure, which would authorize federal support for research using stem cells derived from excess embryos that fertility clinics would otherwise discard.

The White House said Thursday that the president would veto the bill, just as he did last year. "The bill would compel all American taxpayers to pay for research that relies on the intentional destruction of human embryos," the White House statement said.

It would take 290 House votes to override a veto. Continue reading here.

I still want to know why it's okay to compel me to pay for executing human beings or to fund a war I do not support, but it's not okay to compel taxpayers to pay for using embryos that will be destroyed anyway? This culture of life is pretty selective. And this president is so inconsistent in his beliefs.