House Vote a Success for Human Embryos

By Richard Land - Jun 6, 2005 - comment

Thanks to your help with emails and phone calls, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to gain a two-thirds vote on H.R. 810, a bill to fund stem cell research that kills embryos.

Your time given to contact your congressmen made the difference. The final vote, 238-194, though a sad testament that Congress is out of step with mainstream America, is a victory for supporters of life. Many people wrongly anticipated the final vote would be near 290 in favor of the bill, enough to override a veto by the president. But your efforts prompted many congressmen to “get off the fence” and vote against this destructive bill. The House fell 52 votes short of the needed 290.

H.R. 810, sponsored by Reps. Michael Castle (R-DE) and Diana DeGette (D-CO), would overturn the policy adopted by the president in 2001 that bars federal funding of research that would require killing human embryos.

Proponents of H.R. 810 argue that the bill will allow federally funded research on human embryos created by in vitro fertilization which are unwanted and ultimately will be discarded. These proponents fail to recognize that these embryos can be adopted or donated to other couples.

The battle to protect human embryos is not over, however. It is likely that the Senate will consider this month similar legislation that provides federal funds for the killing of human embryos for research purposes. While we can rightly thank the Lord for our victory on H.R. 810, and you should certainly feel encouraged about the part you played by praying and contacting your congressmen, we must also be prepared to express the same sentiments to our senators later this month. An action alert will follow in the coming days notifying you of further details on a Senate vote and opportunities for you to respond.

With your help, we are making a difference. May the Lord richly bless you.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Life, Stem-Cell Research, Citizenship, National

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