Senate to Vote on Sanctity of Life Issues

By Richard Land - Jul 11, 2006 - 3

The U.S. Senate will vote as early as this week on three critical bills dealing with the sanctity of human life. Two bills promote ethical means of research, while the third promotes the unethical destruction of human embryos. The bills, in the order of their expected votes, are as follows:

The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006 (S. 3504) would make it a federal offense for a researcher to use tissue from a human baby who has been gestated in a woman’s or an animal’s womb for the purpose of providing such tissue. This respectable bill would prevent the manufacture and ultimate abortion of human fetuses for research, a practice that would create life for the sole purpose of destroying it.

The Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S. 2754) would provide new federal funding for research on alternative means for producing pluripotent stem cells without creating or harming human embryos. This is an ethical alternative to the third bill, H.R. 810, which would instead provide federal tax dollars for stem cell research on embryos created at in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810), which passed the House of Representatives last year, would overturn President Bush’s longstanding policy that bars federal funding of research that involves killing additional human embryos to obtain stem cells. Researchers who take stem cells from embryos created by IVF destroy humans who might otherwise be given the opportunity of birth, like the 100 “snowflake” babies who have been adopted as embryos from IVF clinics in the United States. Frozen embryos are clearly not “unwanted” as many of the bill’s supporters claim, and must not be seen as expendable resources for the sake of so-called “more valuable lives.” Proponents of H.R. 810 claim that embryonic stem cell research could lead to the discovery of cures for diseases. However, to date it has been a fruitless pursuit yielding not even a single treatment for a disease. Research on non-embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, has produced treatments for 70 ailments, often with dramatic results.

We must seek to protect human life at all stages and promote only ethical stem cell research. Your involvement on these three bills directly affects whether or not human life will be protected from conception to birth in the U.S. If you agree that human life is sacred in all forms and that federal taxpayer dollars should not be given for research that destroys human embryos, please contact your senators and tell them to vote for S. 3504 and S. 2754 and against H.R. 810.

You can call your senators by dialing the Capitol switchboard at 202/224-3121. The operator will connect you to the senator’s office of your choice. If you do not know who your senators are, or if you would prefer to use email, just click here and enter your zip code in the space provided.

Thank you for taking a few minutes of your valuable time to speak for the voiceless and protect human embryos from destruction. May God bless you as you do.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Life, Stem-Cell Research, Citizenship, Christian Citizenship, Human Rights, Issues

comments (post your own) feed

1 On Jul 18th, 2006, at 5:55pm, Freddie Jones wrote:

I’m very disappointed in your view..I was curious to see the position of my church and I can say I’m sick and frustrated.
My daughter is 8 years old and has had Juv. Diabetes since 1 year old.
I’m tired of your ‘holy dot’ and zealous debate while she suffers from a daily burden along with other people who have sickness that could be helped. See if your attitude remains the same when it comes knocking at your door!
I for one will be contacting my Senator but be assured in oppoiste view of yours.
Please do not respond with excuses of alternate methods on research..the time is now for cures.
  No wonder people have doubts and dis interest in the church.
Let me get this straight..abortion is legal but you want to deny my daughter a chance of overcoming a daily battle because your belief is this is wrong!. yes abortion is wrong!..it’s just not any of your business if someone makes that choice. That’s just the way it is.

thank you,
Freddie Jones

2 On Jul 19th, 2006, at 2:07pm, Staff wrote:

Results of the votes:

ERLC’s Richard Land Comments - ERLC.com

The President’s Veto - Whitehouse.gov

3 On Apr 8th, 2007, at 1:23pm, eric wrote:

Freddie:

Nothing I [or anyone] can say will lighten your burden, or that of your daughter.

It seems that we haven’t come that far from the 12th century, when the Church forbade medical research entirely, claiming that it defiled the holy temple of the body.

You are correct in your assessment that, be it in medicine, end of life or sexuality, someone is always ready to loudly proclaim what OTHERS should or shouldn’t do.

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