Nationwide Push to Overturn State Bans on Embryonic Stem Cell Destruction

A few weeks ago we learned that Former State Treasurer David Volk and an Orwellian bunch calling themselves South Dakotans for Lifesaving Cures plan to circulate a petition to attack South Dakota’s ban on destroying living human embryos.

According to Pure Pierre Politics, ostensibly the aim of this group is “To pass an initiative that strengthens the prohibition against human cloning and establish ethical guidelines for other medical research conducted in South Dakota.”

This, of course, doesn’t hold water because South Dakota already bans the cloning of human beings quite adequately.   So what’s the angle?  What are they really up to?

The South Dakota War College has a copy of the documents submitted by this group to the state.  Notice that this legislation would completely remove the language in our statutes which clearly prohibits embryonic stem cell research:

34-14-16. Research that destroys human embryo prohibited–Violation as misdemeanor. No person may knowingly conduct nontherapeutic research that destroys a human embryo. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

This section is also removed:

34-14-18. Use of cells or tissues obtained in violation of § 34-14-16 or 34-14-17 prohibited. No person may use for research purposes cells or tissues that the person knows were obtained by performing the activities described in §§ 34-14-16 and 34-14-17. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Notice also the crafty language in the proposed legislation:

No human blastocyst may be produced by fertilization solely [emphasis mine] for the purpose of stem cell research.

I believe the magic word here is “solely.” As long as the human embryo wasn’t created solely for the purpose of embryonic stem cell research, they can get their grubby hands on them to destroy them for medical research.

This could open the door to all the human embryos created in fertility clinics and such; they were, after all, created for the purpose of getting a couple pregnant, so these living human embryos would fit the definition of this bill…and open to destruction for research purposes.

The death-culture and medical industry money folks tried during the last session of the South Dakota legislature to repeal the state’s ban on embryonic stem cell research…and failed.  But they remain determined to obtain full access to that cash-cow.

No matter that not a single successful therapy has ever come from embryonic stem cell research, even though it’s been going on all around the world, both privately and publicly funded, for years.

No matter that embryonic stem cell therapy has grave problems with tumor generation and tissue rejection, in addition to the innocent human life destroyed to obtain the embryonic stem cells.

No matter that adult stem cell therapy–which doesn’t destroy innocent human life–has already resulted in more than 70 successful therapies to treat things like brain injuries, stroke, retina regeneration, heart tissue regeneration, angina, diabetes, bone cancer, nerve regeneration, cerebral palsy, cartilage regeneration, Parkinsons, kidney damage, liver cancer, lupus, multiple sclerosis,  leukemia and more.

No matter that scientists have already discovered how to manipulate adult stem cells to behave in embryonic stem cell-like fashion, rendering embryonic stem cell research obsolete.

The infatuation with the death-culture–and the cash from research grants that comes with it–is too much of a draw for some people.

That’s apparently why this push to overturn state embryonic stem cell research bans (President Obama already pushed ahead at the federal level) under the guise of “cloning bans” is taking place across the country.

Yes, South Dakota isn’t the only place we’re seeing this deliberately confusing, Orwellian activity.

Two days ago, LifeNews reported that a similar effort–again using deception and confusion–is also underway at the national level:

Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, will soon introduce the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2009.

DeGette, as the Washington Post did in a supportive weekend editorial, will likely tout the legislation as a was to codify, or make as permanent law, Obama’s decision. That means a future pro-life president would not be able to undo the decision with another executive order.

But, DeGette’s measure will likely go further and “enhance” or promote human cloning and the destruction of human embryos.

DeGette introduced a similar bill earlier this year that would allow NIH to invest in other kinds of research — perhaps including so-called “therapeutic cloning,” which is human cloning done for dubious research purposes. Otherwise known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, it is the kind of human cloning in which scientists purposefully create days-old human embryos — unique human beings — for the sole purpose of killing them for research.

DeGette told Congressional Quarterly in April that her legislation could open the door to allowing the Obama administration to force taxpayers to finance human cloning if the National Institutes of Health doesn’t move ahead on its own, which it did not do, despite a claim by the Washington Post that it did.

As he has said in the past, National Right to Life Committee legislative director Douglas Johnson told LifeNews.com today that DeGette’s bill will go much further than media reports say — by promoting human cloning.

“We expect that the DeGette bill will contain provisions intended to encourage and protect the practice of human cloning — that is, the creation of cloned embryos of the species Homo sapiens, for the purpose of using these human embryos in research that will kill them,” he said.

“DeGette has long been a champion of such a ‘clone and kill’ policy, and she believes that the federal government should fund such activity,” he continued.

“Moreover, we expect that DeGette will continue her past practice of deceptively labeling her pro-cloning language as a “ban on human cloning,” even though what she actually seeks to ban is the long-term survival of human clones,” Johnson told LifeNews.com.

Cloning, a science and practice that most people instinctively understand is an ethical minefield, now seems to have become the vehicle of choice for death-culture liberals who seek license to destroy innocent human life. They apparently want to employ a kind of “bait and switch” and “sleight of hand” which they hope will fool people into believing they’re banning something dangerous…while the language of that very ban is crafted to secretly allow something as bad or worse to be permitted.

My sources tell me the same thing being planned in South Dakota is also being planned for Missouri.  There seems to be a concerted effort across the country to put innocent human life on the chopping block under the smokescreen of faux “cloning bans.”

These death culture types may be banking on the hopes that the people of South Dakota–and elsewhere–aren’t smart enough to see through their deception, but I have faith that South Dakotans will realize what they’re up to–and reject it.

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