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Wednesday February 9, 2005
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Print- Catholic Bishop Joins Protest Demonstration Outside Pro-Gay ‘Marriage’ Politicians Office
- Embryo Ruling Could Have Ripple Effect on Abortion, IVF, and Embryo Research
- Toronto Researchers Discover “Jack-Pot” of Stem Cells in Umbilical Cord
- Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex “Marriage” Approved in Alabama
- US Congressman and 18 Co-Sponsors Back Bill to Set Up National Cord Blood Bank
- Organization Says British Approved Human Cloning Violates Nuremberg Code
- LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes
Catholic Bishop Joins Protest Demonstration Outside Pro-Gay ‘Marriage’ Politicians Office
TODAY'S HEADLINES
TIMMINS, ON, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In conjunction with Campaign Life Coalition Timmins, a local pro-life and pro-family organization, Timmins Ontario Bishop Paul Marchand will participate in a peaceful, prayerful demonstration in front of the constituency office of Charlie Angus, Member of Parliament for Timmins - James Bay tomorrow.
According to local organizers, the purpose of the demonstration is to protest Mr. Angus' position in favour of same sex legislation and to stress the importance of keeping the traditional definition of marriage as a union of one man and one women.
A press release from the diocese notes that “Bishop Marchand's presence at the demonstration is another step in the Roman Catholic Church's campaign to oppose same-sex legislation. Earlier in January the Roman Catholic Church launched a vigorous campaign to protect the traditional definition of marriage.”
Since the launch of the campaign, Roman Catholics throughout the Diocese have been urged to take an active role in this debate. "Through homilies and bulletin inserts, parishioners have been informed about the issue and have been urged to call, write and email Mr. Angus and Mr. Rota to express their opposition to the proposed legislation" says Father John Lemire, Diocesan Coordinator for Marriage Campaign. "They have also taken part in a nation-wide postcard campaign and will continue to lobby Members of Parliament on this important issue."
"There is real hope that this legislation can and will be defeated. The Martin Government does not have the 154 votes that it needs to have the legislation passed. Therefore, it is important that we lobby Members of Parliament, like Mr. Angus, to vote against this legislation. Hopefully this demonstration on Thursday as well as the thousands of letters, postcards, emails and telephone calls that he has been receiving will help him change his mind," says Father Lemire. He added, "The presence of the Bishop outside of Mr. Angus' office this week will certainly add to this mounting campaign."
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Back to TopEmbryo Ruling Could Have Ripple Effect on Abortion, IVF, and Embryo Research
CHICAGO, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The in vitro fertilization industry is worried that a Chicago court decision in which an embryo was ruled to be a ‘human being,’ could put an end to IVF and abortion. On Friday, February 4th, Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence ruled that a couple’s wrongful death lawsuit for the death of their embryonic child at a fertility lab could go forward.
The decision is likely to be overturned very quickly but it can be considered a landmark case, being the first time any court in the US has acknowledged that a human being and a human embryo are one and the same. The near certainty of a quick reversal is not comforting IVF clinics who complain that the declaration of the humanity of the embryo could create a ‘chilling effect’ for their industry and for that of abortionists.
“If the decision stands, it could essentially end in vitro fertilization,” said Dr. Robert Schenken, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Schenken, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas in San Antonio, said that doctors would not want to do in vitro fertilization if there could be risk of a wrongful death lawsuit when an embryo is killed. Schenken did not mention that the killing of ‘spare’ embryos is an integral part of the IVF procedure and that the great majority of embryos created artificially in labs are destroyed.
Before the legalisation of artificial contraceptives, the idea that an unborn child comes into existence at the moment of conception was not a ‘controversial’ or conservative political position, but merely rational acceptance of incontrovertible biological fact.
In the 1960’s however, pharmaceutical companies wanted to convince doctors to start prescribing the abortifacient hormonal contraceptive pill. To ease consciences, medical ethicists have arbitrarily changed the definition of pregnancy to say that a human being does not come into existence until the embryo implants in the uterine wall. The embryo before implantation became a non-entity, one the IVF industry and the law now treat as an expensive luxury product.
The Chicago court’s decision could herald the beginning of a change back to reality and that has the IVF industry and by extension, the abortionists worried.
The lawyer for the Center for Human Reproduction, James Kopriva said, “We disagree with the court’s decision and do not believe Illinois law provides for the remedy provided by the court.” Judge Lawrence in his decision wrote that under Illinois law wrongful death lawsuits can be filed on behalf of the unborn regardless of age. Since the differences between a human being at the embryonic stage and say, an adult lawyer, are only age, size, location and level of development, Judge Lawrence ruled that an embryonic human being is protected under the law.
Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05020706.html
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Toronto Researchers Discover “Jack-Pot” of Stem Cells in Umbilical Cord
TORONTO, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Umbilical cords continue to surprise researchers as an abundant source of stem cells. Today’s Toronto Star reports that a group of scientists at the University of Toronto have discovered what they are calling the ‘jack-pot’ of stem cells in a mass of jelly found inside the umbilical cord.
"We're very excited by this, that's for sure," said J.E. Davies, of the UofT's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.
The source, known as Wharton's Jelly, surrounds the three umbilical cord blood vessels connecting the fetus and mother. The Toronto researchers used umbilical cords donated from full-term pregnancies.
The team hopes that this will spur parents to save their children’s umbilical cords. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood have proven to be as versatile as stem cells derived from embryos. Davies said the stem cells could provide sources of treatment for diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, which normally require bone marrow transplants.
The University of Toronto findings are to be published this week in the journal Stem Cells. “You can anticipate using these as a source of cells to help re-grow that bone ... or connective tissue in the knee ... which has been damaged in an accident,” said Davies.
Dr. Peter Hollands, a stem cell biologist from Cambridge University and the Scientific Director of Cells for Life, one of the few cord blood banks in Canada, has said that he cannot understand why scientists are pursuing embryonic stem cells that have so far failed to produce any cures.
Dr. Hollands told LifeSiteNews.com. “If we focused more on collecting umbilical cord blood from most births and storing the samples in a public bank there would then be a suitable match for almost everyone. The ‘designer babies’ would then not be needed as the cord blood banks could easily support the demand for cells for transplantation.”
Read some of LifeSiteNews.com’s vast coverage of adult stem cell advances:
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Expert Says Designer Babies Not Necessary for Treatments
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/may/04051011.html
Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells Deliver Cancer Therapy Without Side Effects
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04110407.html
Non Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment Allows Paralysed Brazilian To Walk, Talk Again
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04112306.html
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Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex “Marriage” Approved in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Alabama, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Both the Alabama Senate and House overwhelmingly approved separate constitutional amendments banning same-sex “marriage” Tuesday.
The Senate approved its amendment by a 35-0 margin; the house by an 85-7 majority. One of the two measures must be jointly approved by the other legislative body before going to a ballot for voter approval.
Although Alabama already created a law banning same-sex “marriage” in 1998, lawmakers were keen to add the constitutional amendment to foil any attempt by judicial activists to overturn the law on constitutional grounds.
Democratic Sen. Roger Bedford said, “It will be a safeguard for future generations.”
Republican Sen. Hank Erwin, after quoting from the Bible, said, “We have always been a traditional family state that says we support one man and one woman in a marriage.”
Meanwhile, an Indiana Senate committee also approved the creation of a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex “marriage.” The vote was split along party lines, with Republicans superseding Democrats 7-4.
The amendment, after passage in the Senate, would then require passage in the House, followed by voter approval. The earliest this could happen is 2008, according to an Indianapolis Star report.
Indiana already defines marriage as between a man and woman, but lawmakers there agree with Alabamans, that protection from judicial activism is a necessity.
Republican Sen. Brandt Hershman, sponsor of the amendment, pointed to New York State as a good reason for needing the constitutional protection. A judge there struck down the law banning same-sex “marriage” Friday.
”With malice intended toward none, our effort is to protect the way it has always been,” he said.
Indianapolis Body of Christ Community Church pastor Rev. Andrew Hunt, supportive of the amendment, said there is no justification for comparing the same-sex “marriage” movement with the civil rights movement, as many are doing.
”You can't contrast my God-given pigmentation with human-learned perversion,” he said.
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US Congressman and 18 Co-Sponsors Back Bill to Set Up National Cord Blood Bank
WASHINGTON, February 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – US Congressman Chris Smith (R- N.J.), along with 18 co-sponsors, cord blood specialists and recipients, urged passage of the Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2005 at a press conference Tuesday.
The sponsors seek to create a national cord blood bank – a national infrastructure for cord blood stem cell collection and research that could, in time, save the lives of thousands of gravely ill Americans. The success of these adult stem cells trumps any need for recourse to morally objectionable embryonic stem cells.
Smith – a leader of health initiatives in Congress – said, “The Legislation will make available the miracle of stem cells derived from medical waste to thousands of patients who otherwise have no hope to recover from lethal diseases.”
The bill would establish an inventory of 150,000 cord blood stem cell units that reflect the diversity of the United States and enable at least 90% of Americans to receive an appropriately matched cord blood stem cell transplant. The inventory would provide a critical resource for those in need of transplants and allocate a certain proportion of units to sustain further research on cord blood stem cells.
For more information, visit the National Cord Blood Program's informational website at http://www.nationalcordbloodprogram.org
Read related Toronto Star coverage (free subscription): “U of T team discovers stem cell jackpot” http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T...
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Organization Says British Approved Human Cloning Violates Nuremberg Code
Professor Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, the famed “creator” of Dolly the sheep, has been given permission to use and destroy human embryos in cloning experiments.
“The destruction of human embryos by scientists is a moral evil which should be equated with the Nazis’ experimentation on Jews in the Second World War,” said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, Canada. “Human beings must be protected from those who would commodify them and destroy their lives, whether those lives are initiated in a petri dish or not,” he continued.
“Wilmut’s statement that ‘This is not reproductive cloning in any way’ is false. Nuclear transfer cloning, the technique that they intend to use, immediately produces a human embryo, therefore reproduction has already occurred. Some researchers, however, falsely maintain that an embryo is not ‘reproduced’ until it, the embryo, has successfully implanted in the lining of a uterus, six days after conception. The fact that a human being comes into existence immediately at fertilization, or as a result of cloning, is accepted by the science of human embryology today,” says Dr. John Shea, Campaign Life Coalition’s medical consultant.
He continues: “The British researchers are reported to have said that this stem cell technique will greatly enhance understanding of motor neuron disease and accelerate the discovery of new drugs. This opinion is at best a guess, and is in any case, morally irrelevant. One must not use evil means even for a good purpose.
“The report spoke of ‘therapeutic cloning, aimed at treating diseases by creating embryos to produce tissue that is a patient's perfect match.’ This is incorrect in two ways: 1) Since the technique kills a human being, it cannot be truly described as therapeutic. 2) This technique does not produce a perfect match for a patient. The mitochondrial DNA of the ovum used in the cloning process is foreign to the patient and tissue rejection of the cloned stem cells is possible. The Wilmut research group has falsified facts and tried to justify their research by using invalid moral arguments.”
Campaign Life Coalition’s media spokesperson, Gillian Long, points out “Wilmut’s proposed research is in direct contradiction of the Nuremberg Code, the first precept of which is ‘The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.’ Human embryos cannot give their consent, so they are not acceptable research subjects under internationally recognized research standards.”
Campaign Life Coalition is calling on the Canadian government and international bodies to decry the use of human beings for destructive research.
See related story
Creator of Dolly Granted License to Clone Humans For Experimentation
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05020806.html
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