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Stem cell research bill renamed in Reagan's honor, pro-life activists outraged
(The Leader www.illinoisleader.com / IFRL www.ifrl.org) Thursday afternoon, State Senator Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Chicago) and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) called for the passage of the proposed stem cell research bill currently awaiting vote in the Illinois Senate and renamed HB 3589 the "Ronald Reagan Biomedical Research Act" to honor the memory of Reagan, who died last week after a ten year battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Conservative activists throughout the state are outraged by what they see as a flagrant attempt to use the occasion of Reagan's death to promote using embryos for stem cell research -- something, they say, Reagan would have staunchly opposed.
"Ronald Reagan was 100 percent pro-life," Rev. Bob VandenBosch, pro-life lobbyist in Springfield said today. "Every pro-lifer in the state should be insulted that Reagan's name is being degraded this way."
"I am furious that a Republican leader Tom Cross is renaming the clone and kill bill in the memory of Ronald Reagan," Concerned Women for America co-director Karen Hayes said this afternoon.
The stem cell research bill is sponsored by Schoenberg in the Illinois Senate and Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) in the House. Schoenberg told Senate colleagues during the last days of the regular session that he has enough votes to pass the legislation, although he did not call the bill for a final vote.
HB 3589 would permit human embryos to be used for stem cell research and would allow for "somatic cell nuclear transplantation," better known as cloning. Human embryos would be placed into a fertile woman's uterus, grown for five to nine days, just short of implantation, and then removed for experimentation.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross, whose daughter suffers from juvenile diabetes, has been an advocate of stem cell research, although he is not a listed as a co-sponsor, as Republican House members Elizabeth Coulson (R-Glenview) and Rosemary Mulligan (R-Park Ridge) are.
"We need to put partisan politics aside and focus on the real help we can bring to people all over Illinois, " Cross said today. "In the spirit of former President Reagan, I urge my colleagues to pass this critical legislation - legislation that could save millions of lives."
Whether the embryos used in the stem cell research are, indeed, alive has become a sticking point in the legislation.
That very issue came up on Monday at a press conference held by U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan. An AP reporter asked Ryan his position on stem cell research with embryos.
Candidate for U.S. Senate Barack Obama demonstrated his support for HB 3589 when he added his name as a co-sponsor on June 9.
Ryan contended the embryos in question should not be harvested for stem cell research.
"Was a life created?" Ryan asked the reporter.
"Well, I don't know how you define 'life,'" the reporter replied. "An egg is fertilized becoming an embryo, but it is not implanted into the mother's womb."
"It sounds to me like a life was created," Ryan said. "I don't think we should create a life in order to harvest it for another's. I think that's a dangerous route to go."
Ryan said that he was supportive of researching adult or umbilical cord stem cells.
Even if the "parents" gave permission for excess embryos that would be discarded otherwise?
"If the embryo could grow into life, I am wary of destroying it," Ryan said.
President George W. Bush has allowed for research on the existing stem cell lines, but disallows the development of additional cell lines. Bush's decision did not please ardent pro-lifers, but it also did not ease criticism from prominent stem cell research advocates such as disabled actor Christopher Reeves, film star and animal rights advocate Bo Derek.
Most recently, former Chicago Cubs all-star Ron Santo, who recently wrote a letter to state senators advocating HB 3589's passage in the Illinois legislature.
Those opposing stem cell research say that the promises made by stem cell research advocates are misleading because no real progress has been made on diseases such as Alzheimer's disease with the controversial research to date.
"Not one person on earth --no, not even a mouse, the favored laboratory subject of the experimenters - has been cured of any disease or has had his condition improved even a little bit as a result of treatments with stem cells taken from embryos," Michael Schwartz, vice president for government relations for Concerned Women for America, said today. "On the contrary, a disturbingly large proportion of the persons (and mice) treated with embryonic stem cells have developed cancer."
But conservatives are most upset with Ronald Reagan's legacy being used to promote using embryos in experimentation. Last week, Reagan's close friend and cabinet member William P. Clarke wrote in the New York Times that Reagan would not have supported stem cell research.
Clarke wrote:
Mr. Reagan's suffering under Alzheimer's disease was tragic, and we should do everything we can that is ethically proper to help others afflicted with it. But I have no doubt that he would have urged our nation to look to adult stem cell research -- which has yielded many clinical successes -- and away from the destruction of developing human lives, which has yielded none.
- HB 3589 may be considered at any time the legislature is in session if not a special-called session. It requires a simple majority for passage.
IFRL Action Alert!
HB 3589 - Stem Cell Research Bill
Senator Jeffrey M. Schoenberg the Senate sponsor of HB3589 "Stem Cell Research Act" (Clone & Kill Bill) has filed Senate Amendment # 5 to HB3589, which will become the bill if approved by the Illinois Senate. Because Senate Amendment # 4 failed to be adopted by the Senate he made one change in Section 30 adding that Nothing in this Section prohibits somatic nuclear transfer or transplantation. This actually further demonstrates that it is the intent of the sponsor to permit human cloning purely for destruction and experimentation. Legislator's need to be made aware that somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) will create a developing human embryo a fact that the proponents of this legislation are seeking to obscure for political purposes.
Senator Schoenberg has called upon and received the assistance of some nationally known persons to call and lobby fellow Senators in support of HB3589. We learned today that certain Senator's have received calls from actor, Christopher Reeves and former Cub baseball star, Ron Santo urging them to support HB3589. Tragically these celebrities who have each suffered from an injury and a debilitating illness advocate human cloning for the purpose of stem cell research and experimentation despite no conclusive scientific proof that the use of these cells will produce the cures and remedies promised. In fact there is a growing consensus among research scientists that adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells is and will continue to produce widespread therapeutic results for patients suffering from various debilitating ailments, something that we are not opposed to.
WE ARE URGING YOU TO AGAIN CONTACT YOUR SENATOR AND URGE HIM/HER TO VOTE NO ON SENATE AMENDMENT #5 to HB3589. PLEASE DO NOT DELAY AS THE SPONSOR IS COUNTING ON THESE CELEBRITIES TO HELP HIM PICK UP THE FEW REMAINING VOTES THAT HE NEEDS TO PASS THIS BILL.
Call your Senator Directly follow this link:
click here
Don't know who your Senator is, follwo this link:
click here
Tell them to vote NO on Amendment #5 to HB3589.
For further study on the stem cell controversy, follow this link:
http://www.ifrl.org/topic/bioethics
Source: The Leader / Illinois Federation for Right to Life
Publish Date: June 16, 2004
Online at: http://ifrl.org/IFRLDailyNews/040617/2
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