WASHINGTON (BP)–What would Jesus do when it comes to stem cell research that destroys human embryos? Support it, a Texas gubernatorial candidate says.
Former congressman Chris Bell, the Democratic nominee for governor of the Lone Star State, said in a July 27 news release, “What would Jesus do? He would not let political objections stand in the way of healing the sick. Stem cell research isn’t just a good idea; it’s a moral imperative.
“When Jesus healed the lepers, he didn’t consult the Pharisees,” Bell said. “I believe God gives us the tools of science and technology to help our fellow man. We cannot let politics stand in the way of curing disease and healing the sick.”
Bell is a member of an Episcopal church in Houston, according to his campaign website.
Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, continues to oppose embryonic stem cell research, however.
“The governor believes it is wrong to end a human life on research that may or may not produce a new medical treatment,” Perry campaign spokesman Ted Royer told the Associated Press. “The governor believes that human life is precious from the moment of conception to the moment of death, and it should be protected.”
Bell is campaigning to bring embryonic stem cell research to Texas and for the state government to underwrite it. He is on the advisory board of StemPAC, a grassroots stem cell network.
While Bell contends God the Son would promote experiments that destroy human embryos, most pro-life Christians disagree, based on the Bible’s teaching on the sanctity of unborn human beings. Extracting stem cells from an embryo destroys the tiny human being.
Five states -– California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey -– fund embryonic stem cell research, according to The New York Times. Missouri’s voters will decide in November on an initiative to support such experimentation.
In July, President Bush used his veto power for the first time to nix a bill that would have funded embryonic stem cell research. The legislation would have weakened the president’s policy barring federal grants for experiments that result in the destruction of human embryos. Bush’s rule allows funds for research only on embryonic stem cell lines already in existence when his policy was announced in 2001.
Unlike research using embryos, extracting stem cells from non-embryonic sources such as umbilical cord blood, placentas, fat and bone marrow does not harm the donor and has produced treatments for at least 72 ailments, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. These include spinal cord injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and sickle cell anemia.
Embryonic research has yet to treat any diseases in human beings and has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals.
Two independent candidates in Texas, musician Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, also support funding embryonic stem cell experiments.
UPHILL IN S.D. –- Pro-lifers in South Dakota will have to mount a comeback effort to uphold the state’s law banning abortion, which faces a referendum at the ballot box in November.
A new survey showed 49 percent of registered voters oppose the ban, while 39 percent support it. Fourteen percent of voters are undecided, according to the poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, which is based in Washington, D.C. The survey results were reported Aug. 1 by the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader, which co-commissioned the poll.
According to the survey, 51 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of independents favor the law, while only 23 percent of Democrats support it.
The law, which was enacted in March, prohibits abortion except when the mother’s life is endangered. It is the most expansive restriction on abortion since the United States Supreme Court struck down all state bans and legalized the practice in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The measure was scheduled to take effect July 1, but the challenge on the ballot has delayed its enforcement until after the election. Even if voters affirm the law at the polls, opponents are expected to take it to court.
WHAT IS PLAN B? -– A new online poll shows only 20 percent of American women know about a “morning-after” pill with abortion-causing qualities that soon may be sold over the counter. In addition, only 8 percent of those surveyed understand how the pill works and when it should be used.
North Carolina-based AllPoints Research disclosed the survey’s results two days after the July 31 announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it is moving toward possible approval of the pill, Plan B, on a non-prescription basis for women 18 years of age and older.
Plan B, as well as another “morning-after” pill known as Preven, is basically a heavier dose of birth control pills. Under the regimen, a woman takes two pills within 72 hours of sexual intercourse and another dose 12 hours later. The “morning-after” pill not only works to restrict ovulation in a woman, but it can act after conception, thereby causing an abortion, pro-lifers point out. The method can block implantation of a tiny embryo in the uterine wall.
Plan B and Preven are now available only with a prescription.
AllPoints’ Internet survey of 300 women found 65 percent did not view the “morning-after” pill, also known as emergency contraception, as immoral or unethical. Only 6 percent of those surveyed believed emergency contraception was never acceptable, even in cases of rape or incest.
In its announcement, the FDA said it would work with Barr Pharmaceuticals to see if an agreement can be reached for over-the-counter sale of Plan B.
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