LIFE DIGEST: Mo. judge agrees with pro-lifers on cloning proposal
- Feb 26, 2008 - comment
A Missouri circuit judge and pro-life advocates in the state agree on at least one thing—Secretary of State Robin Carnahan acted unjustly on a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit human cloning.
Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce ruled Feb. 20 Carnahan’s approved ballot language on the proposal was “insufficient and unfair,” according to Baptist Press. Joyce rewrote the language, which is the summary of the amendment that appears on the ballot.
Carnahan’s language said the proposed amendment would “repeal the current ban on human cloning or attempted cloning.” It also said the measure would “criminalize and impose civil penalties for some currently allowed research, therapies and cures.”
Supporters of the amendment said the Carnahan-approved language was erroneous and would mislead voters. The new amendment is not intended to rescind a ban on cloning to bring a baby to birth, they say, but to expand the prohibition to include cloning to produce an embryo for stem cell research, something permitted by Amendment 2, which Missouri voters barely approved in 2006.
Joyce’s revised ballot language says the amendment would “change the definition of cloning” by “prohibiting human cloning that is conducted by creating a human embryo at any stage from the one-cell stage forward,” BP reported.
“We are pleased that the courts have upheld our challenge to Secretary of State Carnahan’s blatant attempt to mislead the Missouri voters with her inaccurate ballot summary,” said Lori Buffa, chairwoman of Cures Without Cloning, in a written statement. “It is unfortunate that Ms. Carnahan’s actions have needlessly delayed the democratic process, but we are now prepared to move forward with our efforts to prohibit the cloning of human beings here in Missouri.”
The Missouri Baptist Convention is encouraging pastors and members of its churches to take part in the effort to accumulate enough petition signatures to place the proposed amendment on the ballot in November. The convention contributed $100,000 to the 2006 effort to defeat Amendment 2.
Extracting stem cells from any embryo, including a cloned one, results in the destruction of the tiny human being. Stem cells are the body’s master cells that can develop into tissues and other cells, providing hope for the treatment of numerous afflictions. Embryonic research has yet to treat any diseases in human beings and has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals.
Catholic diocese discourages aid to Komen for the Cure
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock, Ark., has issued a statement discouraging support for a major fundraising organization that promotes breast cancer research, prevention and treatment.
The diocese said it “neither supports nor encourages” involvement in events that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure because:
- Some of its affiliates provide grants to Planned Parenthood chapters;
- It endorses stem cell research that destroys embryos;
- It denies a link between abortion and breast cancer.
Komen for the Cure sponsors five-kilometer runs/walks in cities across the country, with more than 1 million participants each year in the fundraising events. More than 43,000 people take part in the Little Rock race each October, according to the Arkansas Catholic newspaper. Some Catholic parishes and schools have hosted teams for the race, the newspaper reported.
Komen chapters in at least 22 states have given funds to Planned Parenthood affiliates, the Little Rock diocese reported. Despite the grants, Planned Parenthood said in its 2004-05 report its affiliates performed 9,900 more abortions and 26,000 fewer breast exams in 2004 than in 2003, according to the Feb. 4 diocesan statement.
The Little Rock diocese urged parishioners to contact the Komen office in Dallas and request a halt of the affiliation between the organization and Planned Parenthood, recognize a abortion-breast cancer link and withdraw support for embryonic stem cell research.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the country’s largest abortion provider. Its affiliates performed more than 260,000 abortions in the last fiscal year.
The Little Rock diocese’s statement was patterned after one developed by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, according to the Arkansas Catholic. The dioceses of Charleston, S.C., and Phoenix have distributed similar statements, the newspaper reported.
Grief over abortions leads to suicide of young artist
A young British woman who committed suicide left a chilling message of abortion’s devastating impact.
Emma Beck, 30, hanged herself last year in response to her grief over aborting her twins in September 2006, according to information released at a Feb. 21 coroner’s inquest.
“I should never have had an abortion,” the promising artist said in a note she wrote before her suicide last February, according to the Daily Mail, a London newspaper. “I see now I would have been a good mum. I told everyone I didn’t want to do it, even at the hospital.
“I was frightened, now it is too late. I died when my babies died. I want to be with my babies—they need me, no one else does.”
Sylvia Beck, Emma’s mother, said her daughter was excited about the pregnancy, but her boyfriend, and the father of the twins, was not, the newspaper reported. Emma’s mother questioned why her daughter was unable to see a hospital counselor before her abortions.
Emma missed two appointments before seeing a physician, according to the Daily Mail. The doctor who dealt with Emma at a hospital in Truro, Cornwall, and performed the abortions said she was given the opportunity to receive counseling. The counselor at the unplanned pregnancy clinic was on holiday leave on the day of their appointment, so she gave Emma the number of a “telephone pregnancy [counseling] service,” said the doctor, whose name was not released by the coroner. The physician did the abortions eight days later.
“I am satisfied that everything was done to make sure that Emma consented to the operation,” the doctor said, the newspaper reported. “As far as I can recall, Emma did not express any doubts about her decision. There is never any pressure put on a woman to choose either way.”
She acknowledged, however, more counselors had been hired for “holiday cover,” according to the Daily Mail.
Emma was unwilling to see a counselor after the abortions, her general practitioner said at the inquest.
Luxembourg may legalize euthanasia
Luxembourg is threatening to become the next European country to allow doctors to aid patients in killing themselves.
In a vote Feb. 19, Luxembourg’s parliament approved legislation to legalize euthanasia, according to Agence France-Presse. The measure gained the support of 30 of the 59 legislators. The bill does not become law, however, until it is approved on a second reading.
The Netherlands and Belgium have legalized euthanasia. Euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland, but assistance in private suicides is permitted.
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