THE ISSUEThe new Democrat mantra: Don't let science get in the way of killing babies!
Today, House Democrats will bring to the floor H.R. 3, a bill that will force taxpayers to foot the bill for the destruction of human embryos while opening the door to human cloning.
THE REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
House Republicans will offer a proposal to instead boost federal funding for new research in amniotic non-embryonic stem cells. The bill proposal is based on earlier legislation authored by Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Phil Gingrey (R-GA).
On Monday, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) called on House Democrat leadership to "reconsider its decision to force stem cell legislation to a vote this week without hearings or committee debate." Boehner issued his call after reports of new research findings at Wake Forest and Harvard Medical Schools . Researchers at these schools concluded that amniotic non-embryonic stem cells may offer the same research possibilities as stem cells obtained through the destruction of living human embryos.
The breakthrough appears to confirm that the full potential of stem cell research can be realized without the destruction of living human embryos that are capable of growing into healthy human adults. According to the Washington Post on Monday:
"A type of cell that floats freely in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women has been found to have many of the same traits as embryonic stem cells, including an ability to grow into brain, muscle and other tissues that could be used to treat a variety of diseases, scientists reported yesterday. ..."'This is wonderful news,' said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opposes research that depends on embryo destruction. 'It doesn't require harming anyone or destroying life at any stage.'"
UPDATE: Boehner's statement urging a "no" vote (via email):
"Madame Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3, a bill to expand taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research. I support stem cell research with only one exception - research that requires killing human life. Taxpayer-funded stem cell research must be carried out in an ethical manner in a way that respects the sanctity of human life. Fortunately, ethical stem cell alternatives continue to flourish in the scientific community.UPDATE 2 - AP News Alert:
"Earlier this week, we learned that amniotic non-embryonic stem cells may offer the same research possibilities as stem cells obtained through the destruction of human embryos. We've also seen stem cells from non-controversial sources like umbilical cord blood be used to treat humans afflicted with more than 70 afflictions. We need to be funding the research that shows the most promise.
"I am deeply disappointed Democratic leaders pressed ahead with this vote rather than having hearings and markups where breakthroughs, like amniotic fluid stem cell research, could have been fully examined. This research offers the potential for a new consensus approach to the difficult issue of stem cell research and I am disappointed the Democratic majority was not willing to allow time for this new development to be thoroughly examined.
"The issue before us is not whether taxpayer dollars should subsidize stem cell research; there is little debate about that. The question for Congress is whether taxpayer dollars should be used to subsidize stem cell research that requires the destruction of precious human life.
"I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 3."
WASHINGTON (AP) The House has passed a bill bolstering taxpayer-funded research on embryonic stem cells.Let the harvesting begin! I think it was Jeff Goldblum's character is Jurassic Park that said something along the lines of "Just because we can do a thing doesn't neccessarily mean that we should." And that is just the ethics of this sort of thing...doesn't begin to address the fact that this is new spending being proposed with no offsets mentioned...
