Stem cell research
It's sad because so many don't know both sides of the story:
"Capitalizing on the public emotion surrounding the
Alzheimer's-related of Ronald Reagan -- but in
complete disregard of the former president's personal
beliefs -- lawmakers continue to push for the expansion of
embryonic stem-cell research, the Wall Street Journal
reported.
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Tuesday that there are
more than 60 senators who would vote for legislation to
expand embryonic stem-cell research if President Bush
doesn't alter his 2001 policy, established via executive
order, restricting the use of federal funding for such
science on moral grounds.
If Congress were to pass legislation in favor of such an
expansion, the president is likely to veto it -- and 60
votes is enough to override that veto.
Bush's point, and the point of family advocates, is that
research on stem cells offers the most promise for
the treatment of disease. Those cells are readily
available in sources such as bone marrow, umbilical cord
blood, the pancreas and brain, and no lives are lost in
the process. Embryonic stem-cell research, in addition to
being less promising, requires the destruction of
embryonic life in order to harvest the cells.
Lawmakers who point to Reagan as proof of the need for
expansion of embryonic research are missing an important
point -- Reagan would have clearly stood with Bush on this
issue, according to many who knew him well.
According to Charles Colson, former aide to President
Nixon and founder of Prison Fellowship, a draft of an
executive order Reagan worked on shortly before he left
office stated he wanted to "continue and broaden the
[1988] moratorium on National Institutes of Health grants
for certain types of fetal experimentation."
"Reagan took a clear stand against research that would
harm or destroy 'any living child in utero' in all stages
of development in which scientists were then able to
experiment on them," Colson said.
Reagan's national security adviser, William Clark, also
addressed the issue of his former boss's thoughts about
the destruction of human life in the name of science.
"After the charter expired for the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare's ethical advisory board -- which in
the 1970s supported destructive research on human embryos
-- Reagan began a de facto ban on federal financing of
embryo research that he held throughout his presidency,"
Clark said.
Added Colson: "It's understandable that (people)…blind to
what is really going on, are grasping at straws. But they
ought to argue their case on its merits -- what few merits
it has -- and not enlist in their cause the name of Ronald
Reagan, who stood foursquare against the exploitation and
destruction of human life in any stage.
"That is one legacy he would have never wanted to leave."
TAKE ACTION: Let your representative and senators know
how you feel about the expansion of embryonic stem-cell
research and the destruction of human life involved. For
help in contacting your senators by e-mail via an
easy-to-use Web form, please see our CitizenLink Action
Center. http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/officials/
For more information about the difference between
embryonic stem-cell research and stem cell research,
please visit our Focus on Social Issues Website.
http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/bioethics/facts/a0027491.cfm
"Capitalizing on the public emotion surrounding the
Alzheimer's-related of Ronald Reagan -- but in
complete disregard of the former president's personal
beliefs -- lawmakers continue to push for the expansion of
embryonic stem-cell research, the Wall Street Journal
reported.
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Tuesday that there are
more than 60 senators who would vote for legislation to
expand embryonic stem-cell research if President Bush
doesn't alter his 2001 policy, established via executive
order, restricting the use of federal funding for such
science on moral grounds.
If Congress were to pass legislation in favor of such an
expansion, the president is likely to veto it -- and 60
votes is enough to override that veto.
Bush's point, and the point of family advocates, is that
research on stem cells offers the most promise for
the treatment of disease. Those cells are readily
available in sources such as bone marrow, umbilical cord
blood, the pancreas and brain, and no lives are lost in
the process. Embryonic stem-cell research, in addition to
being less promising, requires the destruction of
embryonic life in order to harvest the cells.
Lawmakers who point to Reagan as proof of the need for
expansion of embryonic research are missing an important
point -- Reagan would have clearly stood with Bush on this
issue, according to many who knew him well.
According to Charles Colson, former aide to President
Nixon and founder of Prison Fellowship, a draft of an
executive order Reagan worked on shortly before he left
office stated he wanted to "continue and broaden the
[1988] moratorium on National Institutes of Health grants
for certain types of fetal experimentation."
"Reagan took a clear stand against research that would
harm or destroy 'any living child in utero' in all stages
of development in which scientists were then able to
experiment on them," Colson said.
Reagan's national security adviser, William Clark, also
addressed the issue of his former boss's thoughts about
the destruction of human life in the name of science.
"After the charter expired for the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare's ethical advisory board -- which in
the 1970s supported destructive research on human embryos
-- Reagan began a de facto ban on federal financing of
embryo research that he held throughout his presidency,"
Clark said.
Added Colson: "It's understandable that (people)…blind to
what is really going on, are grasping at straws. But they
ought to argue their case on its merits -- what few merits
it has -- and not enlist in their cause the name of Ronald
Reagan, who stood foursquare against the exploitation and
destruction of human life in any stage.
"That is one legacy he would have never wanted to leave."
TAKE ACTION: Let your representative and senators know
how you feel about the expansion of embryonic stem-cell
research and the destruction of human life involved. For
help in contacting your senators by e-mail via an
easy-to-use Web form, please see our CitizenLink Action
Center. http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/officials/
For more information about the difference between
embryonic stem-cell research and stem cell research,
please visit our Focus on Social Issues Website.
http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/bioethics/facts/a0027491.cfm