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Urgent
Congressional Alert:
Urge Congress to Reject Embryo-Killing Research
WASHINGTON (May 5, 2005) – President Bush has vowed that federal funds will
not be used to support research that requires killing human embryos, but
Congress may soon vote on bills that would overturn the President’s pro-life
policy.
Your help is needed! Please communicate with your representative in the U.S.
House of Representatives and your two U.S. senators, urging them to support
President Bush’s pro-life policy and to oppose legislation that would
authorize federal funding of research that requires killing human embryos.
You can send messages to your representatives by e-mail, telephone, fax, or
U.S. mail. Details appear below.
Background
Near the end of his administration, President Bill Clinton took steps to
authorize federal funding of research which would use stem cells obtained by
killing human embryos, originally created by in vitro fertilization in
infertility clinics. However, after President Bush took office in January
2001, he blocked such funding.
On August 9, 2001, President Bush gave a televised speech in which he
announced that no federal funds would be used for any research which would
require the destruction of human embryos, including embryos created during
infertility treatments and later “donated” for research by the biological
parents. The President’s policy allowed federal funds to be used on “cell
lines” based on cells obtained from human embryos prior to the adoption of
the policy.
Now, organizations that favor embryo-destructive research are pushing
Congress to approve legislation, known as the “Stem Cell Research
Enhancement Act,” that would overturn President Bush’s pro-life policy. This
legislation would authorize federally funded research using stem cells from
human embryos who are donated by their biological parents; the process of
removing the stem cells will kill the embryos.
In the House, the bill has been introduced by Reps. Mike Castle (R-De.) and
Diane DeGette (D-Co.) as H.R. 810.
In the Senate, the bill has been introduced by Senators Arlen Specter
(R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) as S. 471.
As of May 4, 2005, H.R. 810 had 198 cosponsors – only 20 short of an
absolute House majority, which is 218 votes. The large number of cosponsors
has resulted in a situation in which a vote on this bill, or some very
similar bill, is very likely to occur on the House floor this summer.
To view an always-current list of cosponsors of H.R. 810, click
here.
There is also likely to be a vote on this issue this year in the Senate,
where the rules allow entire bills to be offered as amendments to unrelated
bills. To view an always-current list of cosponsors of S. 471, click
here.
Take Action Now!
Please urge all members of Congress to oppose federal funding of research
that requires killing human embryos, and in particular, to oppose the
Castle-DeGette bill (H.R. 810) (when communicating with House offices), or
the Specter-Harkin bill (S. 471) (when communicating with Senate offices).
Urge other pro-life citizens to do the same. Utilize newsletters, church
bulletins, call-in radio shows, and other means to alert pro-life citizens
to this crucial fight. Also, write letters or op-ed essays for local
newspapers, highlighting the critical votes that federal lawmakers will soon
cast.
Key points in support
of the pro-life policy
* Each human being begins as a human embryo. Tell your
representatives that you agree with President Bush that the government
should not fund research that requires the killing of human embryos.
* Stem cells can be obtained without killing human embryos, from
umbilical cord blood and from various types of adult tissue. Already, humans
with at least 58 different disease conditions have received therapeutic
benefit from treatment with such “adult stem cells.” In contrast, embryonic
stem cells have not been tested in humans at all because of the dangers,
including frequent formation of tumors. Tell your representatives that you
favor “ethical adult stem cell research, not research that requires killing
human embryos.”
* Those who favor federal funding of research that kills human
embryos sometimes claim that these embryos “will be discarded anyway,” but
this need not be so. Many human embryos have been adopted while still
embryos, or simply donated by their biological parents to other infertile
couples, and are happy children today. Tell your representatives that you
favor “human embryo adoption, not dissection.”
For additional information on ethical and unethical forms of stem cell
research, see
www.stemcellresearch.org and the NRLC Human Embryos
webpage.
Different ways to communicate
with members of Congress
To communicate quickly and effectively with your congressional
representatives, use the NRLC
Legislative Action Center.
This resource will help you easily send messages to your two U.S. senators
and to your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives in
opposition to federal funding of embryo-killing research.
Once you are at the Legislative Action Center, click on
the latest Action Alert that deals with this issue.
You will see a link that allows you to easily check to see whether your
representative or senators have cosponsored the bad bills that are opposed
by National Right to Life. You will also see suggested e-mail messages
(which are easy to modify) to send to lawmakers, with different messages for
sponsors and nonsponsors of the bad bills.
Faxed letters
If you prefer to send a faxed letter, you can use the tab “Elected
Officials” to find the fax numbers of your senators and representative
(for those who choose to publish a fax number).
U.S. mail
You can communicate with your representatives by U.S. mail at the following
addresses:
Senator _______
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable _______________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Telephone
You can communicate with your representatives by calling their Washington,
D.C. offices through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202)
224-3121. If you are unsure of who represents you, just give the operator
the name of your state (for senators) or your zip code (for House members),
and you will be connected to the correct offices. Or, you can use the Zip
Code Finder in the “Take Action Now” box at the Legislative Action Center.
It is very helpful to also call the local in-state offices of your
representatives. Those numbers are available here under “Elected
Officials,” or from local telephone information.
Please keep NRLC informed!
If you obtain a response from a Member of Congress, or any other information
on any lawmaker’s position on this issue (including information reported in
the press), please forward it to NRLC by e-mail to
Legfederal@aol.com (preferred), or
by fax to (202) 347-3668, or by U.S. mail to NRLC, Federal Legislation
Department, 512-10th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20004-1401.
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