Washington, DC -- President Bush said Friday that federal money should not be used for research on fetal tissue or on stem cells derived from abortions. ``I believe there's some wonderful opportunities for adult stem-cell research,'' Bush said. ``I believe we can find stem cells from fetuses that died a natural death, but I do not support research from aborted fetuses.''

The move marked the third pro-life proclamation of the Bush administration -- coming after an executive order to stop taxpayer funding of groups that promote or perform abortions and an announcement by new HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson saying the Bush administration would reevaluate the FDA's decision to allow use of the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug.

He did not say whether he would move to block federal research funding. Aides said afterward he was signaling his intent to do so.

Bush had indicated his opposition to such research during the presidential campaign, but the remarks Friday were his first on the topic since taking over the White House a week ago.

``I will let you know when I decide all policy decisions, but the answer to your question is no,'' Bush said when asked whether he believes federal money should be spent on fetal-tissue research and stem-cell research from abortions.

Scientists say research with stem cells, master cells that are the building blocks for all other tissue in the body, could lead to revolutionary treatments for problems from Alzheimer's to paralyzing spinal cord injuries. Yet pro-life advocates oppose taking such cells from unborn children or from those killed by abortion and they point out that many alternative methods of getting the cells are available to researchers. Recent studies suggest that adult stem cells have great therapeutic potential. Bush did not specifically address embryonic stem cells.

"We're not against research or medical progress," said Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. "We're against the research establishment having to collaborate with the abortion industry."

Unless Bush intervenes, the National Institutes of Health plans to begin funding research with lab-grown embryonic stem cells as early as this spring. Bush might cut off existing funding for a larger type of research related to tissues from induced abortions.

Bush has said in the past he supports an alternative method using fetal tissues retrieved from miscarriages. But scientists say such tissue is seldom usable because of genetic abnormalities in the unborn child that caused the miscarriage.

Press secretary Ari Fleischer, quoting Bush's statements during the campaign, said Friday that Bush ``would oppose federally funded research for experimentation on embryonic stem cells that require live human embryos to be discarded or destroyed.'' Fleischer, questioned by reporters, would not say whether Bush intends to block the NIH, which is now accepting grant applications for research on lab-grown embryonic stem cells initially harvested by private researchers.

Bush stopped short Friday of saying whether or how he might block the NIH funding. The White House is reviewing all rules and executive orders implemented by the Clinton administration, including those on abortion-related research.

Research using tissues from induced abortions received $20.6 million in National Institutes of Health support in 1999, the last year for which figures are available. More than 135 NIH-funded projects rely specifically on fetal tissues, and many more are believed to use those tissues incidentally.