For the most part I find this whole thing hardly more than a bad publicity accident. They should have known that doing anything "biometric" is going to get activist groups on their tail.
Looking at it rationally, finger vein scans are in no way more of an issue than photographs on plastic cards. In fact, they are less of an issue, because you have to actively place your finger onto a machine, whereas everybody could (if they wanted) take a photo of you without you knowing, run it against a database and know who you are.
So, actually, finger vein scans, from a liberty standpoint, are better than photographs since one can only establish your identity based on your explicit cooperation. Photographs are much more of a liberty issue. But, hoping on a rational discussion in these matters that would actually lead to a reasonable policy is a futile exercise, when everybody just waits to drop Franklin quotes and slippery slope argument in the discussion.
rumborak