Posted on 05/22/2005 6:08:44 PM PDT by Sun
There was actually a republican party commercial in support of this legislation that I just witnessed on Fox News either this morning or last night. I was really surprised!! Looks like I may be switching to 'independent' sooner than I thought!!
US Senator Predicts Passage of Bill to Allow More Stem Cell Research
By Michael Bowman
Washington
22 May 2005
An influential Democratic senator is predicting congressional passage of a bill that would expand federally-funded medical research involving embryonic stem cells - despite a veto threat by President Bush. Renewed debate on the controversial subject follows reports of a scientific breakthrough involving stem cells by South Korean researchers.
U.S. tax dollars may only be spent on embryonic stem cell research derived from a small number of previously-destroyed embryos - where, as President Bush once noted, "the life-and-death decision had already been made."
But Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is co-sponsoring legislation that would allow federally funded programs to use new embryonic stem cell lines.
Speaking on ABC's This Week program, Mr. Lieberman said the proposal has a good chance of passing both houses of Congress. "They understand across party lines that stem cell research holds amazing hope for curing diseases, or better treating diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's and a lot of others. This is bipartisan. In the Senate, I am co-sponsor with [Pennsylvania Republican Senator] Arlen Specter of an identical bill. I think we are going to get it done," he said.
The bill could be brought up for a vote in a matter of days.
President Bush has consistently opposed destroying a viable embryo in order to harvest stem cells. Friday, Mr. Bush repeated his opposition and issued a veto warning. "I have made very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life, I am against that. And therefore if the bill does that, I will veto it," he said.
Last week, South Korean researchers announced the successful creation of cloned human embryos using genetic material taken from patients suffering a variety of illnesses and medical conditions. The accomplishment is regarded as a major milestone in stem cell research, because, once introduced into the human body, stem cells are unlikely to be rejected by a patient's immune system if they are genetically identical.
Scientists say human embryonic stem cells are formed in the earliest stages of life and can adapt to become any tissue in the body.
But Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of ailing evangelical minister Billy Graham, said cures and treatments must not be pursued at any cost. "I have a father who has Parkinson's disease, I have a son who has cancer. I have a mother who has degenerative arthritis. I have a husband who has diabetes. I would not want any one of my family members to benefit from the willful destruction of another human life. An embryo, as tiny as it is, is still a human life created in the image of God," he said.
Others take a different point of view. Dana Reeve is the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, who died last year after a prolonged battle with paralysis. "A lot of people will say, 'You have no right to tamper with human life.' This is not a baby. It is not an embryo. It is pre-embryonic. This is something that would not, once implanted, turn into a human being. There is not a disorder you can name that would not benefit from stem cell research. Eyes, heart, lungs - every part of the body [can benefit]," she said.
Some researchers warn unless restrictions are lifted, the United States could quickly fall behind other nations in stem cell research. Public opinion polls show Americans support stem cell research by about a two-to-one margin.
In a free country, anything can be debatted.
Sure, but why spend bandwidth on a thread that will end with people insulting each other?
Debated is the proper spelling BTW. Not that I care. Except these threads always end up with people calling each other names and criticizing spelling.
Thanks for the info.
I'm glad we have President Bush to veto ESC.
Everyone thinks of Joe Lieberman as being conservative, at least for a Dem, just because he supports the war.
Senator Lieberman is very liberal on most issues, and even supports partial birth abortion. He was excommunicated from the Orthodox Jewish religion, because of his extreme leftist views on the social issues.
While we're on the phone calling our congresscritter....
57% of Americans say that "Senate rules should be changed so that a vote must be taken on every person the President nominates to become a judge." That's unchanged from two weeks ago.
Maybe we ought to tell our U.S. senators about this poll, and also tell those "swing" senators.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Judicial%20Nominations--May%2014.htm
Rush Limbaugh said that some senators are wavering back and forth, partly because of pressure from the public - our phone calls, folks. Let's get more phone calls and/or e-mails than the other side does.
Even if none of these WAVERING senators is your own senator,
please call 'em, anyway.
The last I heard the key GOP Senators are John Sununu (NH), Collins (ME), DeWine (OH), Hagel (NE), Murkowski, Specter (PA), and Warner (VA). Frist can afford to lose only two, because McCain, Chafee, and Snowe have declined to end the judicial filibusters.
We can call toll-free at 877-762-8762 .
Fax or e-mail info can be found here (but phone calls are more effective):
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
Urge each to FULLY SUPPORT THE FILIBUSTERING
RULES CHANGE.
I think adult stem cell research is evil. It's just cannibalism. You are using parts of a human to treat a human. Canibalism by definition.
I don't want the fedral government funding adult stem cell research. I just don't accept we should be messing around with the human body. If say 10 of us don't like it then the government should not be funding it.
</sarcasm>
I assume you are against in vitro fertilization techniques as well. I've never, once, seen opposition, or a protest, of affluent white couples outside of IVT clinics... why is that?
What would satisfy you ... or are you just given to haranging pro-life folks? Yes, I'm opposed to current in vitro techniques because they commoditize the conceived humans at embryo age, making 'surplus' embryo populations for their freezers. The dehumanization of embryo-aged beings (an age --embryo-- that even you lived through, to reach your current age) is what I object to and any technigue that does such.
C'mon, dude. What would satisfy me? That you acknowledge that the 'pro life', 'anti abortion', whatever, movement, is hypocritical to the very core. I've never seen, once, ever, an attack on affluent (mostly white, by the way, we'll return to this point later) couples who are trying to conceive through IVF techniques. Why is that?
Either acknowledge the hypocrisy, or there will always be this elephant in the room, and it won't go away. You know what I'm talking about. If you don't, too bad. Everyone else around you does.
You want to address the other relevancies of my post, or just continue your rant, irrationally, with the strawmen you can stand up?
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