WASHINGTON (May 25, 2005)-- Yesterday the House of Representatives
approved two bills on stem cell research. One bill, H.R. 2520, will
increase access to life-saving treatments by establishing a nationwide
public bank for umbilical cord blood stem cells; the other, H.R. 810, will
force taxpayers to fund stem cell research which requires the destruction
of human embryos. President Bush has promised to veto the embryo research
bill, which fell short of a veto-proof margin by over 50 votes.
“This was a David and Goliath story,” said Richard M. Doerflinger, Deputy
Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “The pro-life
movement and its allies in Congress went up against the combined resources
of Hollywood celebrities, the research establishment, and a wealthy
for-profit biotechnology industry, and fought them to a standstill. The
bill to promote killing of human embryos for their stem cells will not
become law. Yet the floor debate showed an appalling degree of ignorance
and confusion on the issue among those voting for this bill, indicating
the educational challenge to be addressed before the House votes on this
issue again. Some even said that embryonic stem cells have a proven
ability to cure patients and that adult stem cells do not, whereas exactly
the opposite is true.
“The good news,” said Mr. Doerflinger, “is that the House of
Representatives voted nearly unanimously to encourage the broader use of
cord blood stem cells in research and treatment, an ethical and
exceptionally promising field. This bill also has strong bipartisan
support in the Senate and President Bush’s strong support. It should be
enacted into law without delay, so it can begin helping patients with
devastating disease.”
According to a nationwide poll commissioned by the USCCB Secretariat for
Pro-Life Activities in May 2005, H.R. 810 runs counter to the opinion of a
majority of Americans. Fifty-two percent of Americans in the poll opposed
federal funding of stem cell research that requires destroying human
embryos. When given a choice between funding all stem cell research, or
only research which does not require destroying human embryos, respondents
favored funding only the latter by 60 to 22 percent.
“It is always wrong for government to promote the destruction of innocent
human life,” said Mr. Doerflinger. “Society must focus its efforts on
promoting medical research that all Americans can live with.”