Senate Votes to Kill Embryos

In a vote that was not unexpected, the Senate voted 63-34 in favor of Senator Harkin's bill, S.5. The bill would mandate that federal funds be used for stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos.

President Bush promises a veto and the final tally was short of the 2/3rds needed for an override of a presidential veto. However, it moves us one step (or one election) closer to taxpayer funds being used to destroy vulnerable human beings.

They may literally be a "clump of cells" but human embryos require only time, nourishment and a safe place to grow until they develop into the newborns we ooh and ah over. All of the genetic material that makes each of us unique is present at the moment of fertilization.

And should you think that this type of legislation is the pinnacle achievement, think again. Many advocates of this research assert that this is only the beginning. Cloning and stem cells culled from older embryos and fetuses are next on the list.

Senators Harkin and Specter's Fuzzy "Facts"

During debate yesterday in the Senate, Senators Harkin and Specter apparently made assertions about stem cell research that, for lack of a better turn of phrase, could be called deceptive.

According to the Family Research Council, Senator Harkin claims that S.5 has "tighter" ethical guidelines than the President's policy on embryonic stem cell research. How Sen. Harkin thinks that deliberately killing human embryos somehow makes for better ethics is unclear.

Senator Specter claims that the 400,000 embryos currently frozen in storage will be destroyed--they should be used for research. However, a Rand Institute study determined that only 2.8 percent of the 400,000 embryos in storage have been slated for research. The rest are not scheduled for destruction or donation but are being saved by their parents. Rand also estimates that finding all of them useable and then using all of the 2.8 percent available would yield only 275 new cell lines. Far less than what proponents claim. Obviously the next step would be to create human embryos for the express purpose of destroying them for research. And if you think that's a stretch, the BIO lobby has been pushing for federal funds to create embryos for research since day one.

Give them an inch. . .

White House Announces President Will Veto S.5

The White House announced today that the President will veto S.5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. S.5 would use tax dollars to pay for the intentional destruction of human embryos in order to further embryonic stem cell research.

To date, there are no patients benefitting from stem cell research derived from human embryos. However, there are over 70 diseases and conditions that can be treated using stem cells from ethical sources (e.g., umbilical cord blood).

The White House is sending a clear message that our tax dollars should not be used for ethically questionable research but will our Senators be listening?

Senate Likely to Begin Debate on Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding Tomorrow

Please contact your Senator to let them know that you oppose taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research.

The vote will likely occur on Wednesday so there is still time. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.