Free Republic

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As both houses of the Massachusetts Legislature voted to override the governor's "partial veto" of a bill promoting embryonic stem-cell research over the strong objections of the state's Catholic bishops, Catholic leaders in Delaware and Michigan geared up for similar battles. "For the first time in our nation's history, we will be giving government approval for the systematic destruction of innocent human beings so that their body parts can be harvested for scientific research," said Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., in a May 26 pastoral statement about the Delaware Regenerative Medicine Act, expected to be...

At 5-foot-11, Arnt has straight blond hair and blue eyes. He swims, runs, skis on water and snow, and works out. A law student, the 28-year-old describes himself as easygoing, a creative perfectionist with a good wit, an extrovert. He's not advertising for a girlfriend. His sperm is for sale. Arnt is one of 50 men from Denmark whose sperm sits in one of three metal vats in Manhattan - waiting for a couple or a single mother desperate for a baby. In this case, a Viking baby. The company, Scandinavian Cryobank, has been in business in Denmark for almost...

SANTA FE, United States (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) hailed actor Christopher Reeve "America's hero," and vowed to keep up the campaign for stem cell research championed by the man known best as "Superman." In a statement released here, Kerry said he considered Reeve, who died Sunday nine years after being paralyzed from the neck down, a friend. "He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on the life-saving cures that science and research can provide. "He met every challenge with a courage...

CAMDEN, New Jersey, August 27, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fertility specialists create more embryos than are needed when performing in-vitro fertilization. The question arises: what is done with all the "extra" embryonic children? Researchers at Rutgers and Pennsylvania State Universities conducted a survey of fertility clinics to answer the dilemma. The scientists found that besides simple disposal, clinics will also offer other options, such as adoption. Some clinics even allow the parents to take their embryonic children home, or allow them to attend a "funeral" for the children. "There is certainly a lot more ambivalence about what embryos are than I...

LifeSite Daily News Thursday December 18, 2003 Over 200,000 U.S. Embryonic Children Killed in IVF Attempts in 2002 WASHINGTON, December 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released the seventh annual assisted reproductive technology (ART) report detailing the 2002 success rates for 384 fertility clinics around the country. A LifeSiteNews.com analysis of the figures reveals that over 220,000 human embryos created through the process died and only 40,687 survived to birth. The report did not detail how many embryos died without being transferred into their mothers' wombs, nor did it detail the number of embryos...

A judge may have to decide what happens to black twins born to a white couple after an apparent blunder at an IVF clinic. It is possible that sperm from a black patient was used in error to fertilise eggs from the white woman, or that an embryo was implanted in the wrong woman. Neither the people involved nor the clinic can be named, and a court hearing has been scheduled for October to consider the legal status of the babies. It is thought the couple want to keep the twins. The case has prompted calls - including one from...