NRLC Warns of "Bait-and-Switch" on Stem Cell Research
Part Three of Three

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives "to warn you that there is a substantial chance that you will soon see an attempt to ram through the House of Representatives, on short notice, legislation that would authorize federal funding of research on human embryos created specifically to be used in research, and open the door to federal funding of human cloning and human embryo farms."

The letter explains that, contrary to assurances given to Members in the past, anticipated forthcoming legislation dealing with stem cell research will not limit the NIH to the use of human embryos who are donated by their parents after being "left over" at in vitro fertilization clinics and, but will also empower NIH to use human embryos created especially to be used in research, including embryos created by human cloning. 

The NRLC letter explains:

A legislative "bait and switch" is in the works.  We anticipate that the forthcoming "embryonic stem cell research" legislation (1) will give NIH authority broad enough to fund research that uses not only "leftover" human embryos but also created-for-research human embryos, including embryos created by human cloning; and (2) may be coupled with a clone-and-kill provision, which will be labeled as a "ban on human cloning" but which will actually define "human cloning" in a manner that allows the mass creation of human embryos by cloning, for the purpose of using them in research that will kill them.  The pro-cloning side hopes to smuggle through these radical policy changes on this authorization legislation, and then follow up by gutting or repealing the Dickey-Wicker provision on the Health and Human Services appropriations bill for FY 2010.

The letter concludes: 

Whatever legislation dealing with embryonic stem cell research and human cloning is actually brought before the House will be accurately described in NRLC's scorecard of key right-to-life roll calls of the 111th Congress.  If, as we fear, the forthcoming legislation allows the creation of human embryos by cloning for use in research that will kill them, and grants NIH the authority to fund research that lethally exploits human embryos who were especially created for research, then a vote for that legislation will be accurately described as a vote in favor of federal taxpayer support for human cloning and human embryo farms.

To view or download the entire NRLC letter in PDF format, go to http://www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/NRLCHousecloningwarning.pdf

Please send your comments on any or all of the columns to daveandrusko@gmail.com.

Part One
Part Two