U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)--U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California)--U.S. Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT)
Senator Brownback says: "'We all have a duty to protect the innocent, and this vote represents a failure to recognize the scientific fact that stem cell research that destroys embryos kills young human children"
U.S. Senator
Sam Brownback (R-KS), whose own legislation,
S. 658, would ban both "reproductive cloning" and "therapeutic cloning" (what
Dr. Leon Kass, Chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, prefers be called "cloning-to-produce-children" and "cloning-for-biomedical-research," respectively) on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, condemned the action of the U.S. House of Representatives in approving that day, by
a vote of 238 in favor and 194 opposed, the
DeGette-Castle "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005," H.R. 810, which would decriminalize nationally, and authorize federal funding for, the creation of human embryonic stem cell lines from frozen human embryos declared "surplus" by those responsible for their conception.
Under the title
"Brownback Condemns House Vote on Embryonic Stem Cell Research--Supports cord blood stem cell research," Senator Brownback's office issued this statement:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today condemned a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
"'The vote in the House to allow taxpayer-funded destruction of young human lives is deeply troubling,' Brownback said. 'We all have a duty to protect the innocent, and this vote represents a failure to recognize the scientific fact that stem cell research that destroys embryos kills young human children.
"'We don’t need destructive research when efficacious and ethical alternatives exist. In fact, after 20 years of work in mice, human embryonic stem cell research has not resulted in a single human application, and results in mice are, at best, very modest. On the other hand, ethical non-destructive research has resulted in at least 58 different types of treatments and cures for real people.'
"A second bill, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith and passed by the House today, would encourage the use of cord blood stem cells for research. Cord blood stem cells are taken from human umbilical cords, which contain a high number of pluripotent stem cells. Once considered medical waste, it has been discovered that cord blood has the potential to save thousands of lives.
"Over the past two years, about $20 million has been appropriated for the purpose of establishing a National Cord Blood Bank, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine.
Brownback worked with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) to include the appropriation in FY 2004 and FY 2005. He has also introduced legislation with Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Specter, and Tom Harkin (D-IA) that would appropriate sufficient funds to ensure the success of a National Cord Blood Bank.
"Brownback continued, 'I have conveyed to Senate leadership that we must do everything we can procedurally to stop unethical embryonic stem cell research in the Senate and I will work to do just that. We simply should not go down the road of using taxpayer dollars to kill young humans. Destroying embryos for any reason remains unethical and unnecessary.'"
Senator Feinstein wants an "up-or-down" vote on House-passed DeGette-Castle embryonic stem cell research bill
Connecticut Congressman Chris Shays says "God gave us intellect to differentiate between imprisoning dogma and sound ethical science, which is what we must do here today"
Prior to the vote on H.R. 810 in the House,
Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT), who was one of the bill's original co-sponsors, speaking on the House floor in favor of the bill's passage, said:
"Sometimes ideology can box you in and cause you to make wrong and harmful decisions. I think it's time we recognized the Dark Ages are over. Galileo and Copernicus have been proven right. The world is in fact round; the Earth does revolve around the sun. I believe God gave us intellect to differentiate between imprisoning dogma and sound ethical science, which is what we must do here today.
"I want history to look back at this Congress and say that in the face of the age-old tension between religion and science the Members here allowed critical scientific research to advance while respecting important ethical questions that surrounded it.
"We know that by allowing embryonic stem cell research to go forward, treatment and prevention for disease will not come to us overnight. But we also know that embryonic stem cell research has the potential to yield significant scientific advances to heal and prevent so many diseases throughout the world."
While the U.S. Congress debates, South Korean researchers create human "clones-for-biomedical research"
Bills legalizing Korean-style human embryonic stem cell research are pending in Congress, but no hearings on them have been scheduled
Similar research would be legalized throughout the U.S. under the provisions of
H.R. 1822 (sponsored by U.S. Representative Mary Bono [R-CA] and
S. 876 (sponsored by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch [R-UT]), the House and Senate versions, respectively, of the "Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act of 2005."
On April 21, 2005, S. 876 was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
On April 26, 2005, H.R. 1822 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and on May 13, 2005, it was referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
As of May 27, 2005, public hearings, the next step in the legislative process, had not been scheduled for either version of the "Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act of 2005."
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