Two Lousy Republicans
Why is it imperative that taxpayers are going to be forced [to support] what many consider to be the killing of embryos?
Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.): Why are taxpayers going to be forced to support the embryonic stem-cell research? Well, there are many taxpayers that disagree with many governmental policies. You can start with the war in Iraq or you could take Amtrak, but we live in a society where the majority rules and we have very, very powerful public support and congressional support and time is on our side in embryonic stem-cell research. It is going to happen. And the sooner it happens the better, and I think President Bush will be applauded and will have a legacy if he is willing to reexamine his thinking on the subject and to agree with the hope that’s been so fervently expressed here routinely by the senators at this podium.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah): If I could just add to that. As a senator who believes that being pro-life is helping the living as well as the unborn, I can’t see for the life of me how we could justify 7,000-20,000 in vitro fertilized eggs being discarded as hospital waste every year as a justifiable thing. Why wouldn’t we use those eggs rather than having them become hospital waste and die? Why don’t we use them for the benefit of mankind, especially for our young children who have these dreaded diseases and have a lifetime ahead of them full of pain, distress and suffering? To me, I don’t think it’s pro-life to just accept that disposal of those 7,000-20,000 in vitro fertilized eggs and not doing everything we possibly can for people who are ill.
Software Engineer Brad Hicks (R.-North Carolina): To Spector I say why dont you just admit that you are a democrat both socially and with regard to the countries security. Thankfully what he says here is correct, that we live in a country that contains a structure which is capable of resisting evil. Thankfully in this case evil was resisted and this attempt to fund mass murder was hindered. Issues like this are the reason why it is so important that we become involved with politics and get out and vote for people who will stand up for what is right the way that President Bush has. We as Christians ought to take advantage of a social structure constructed to give us a say in the lawmaking of our country.
To Hatch I say that your logic is totally screwy. As Christians we believe that all murder is wrong. Whether it is murder in order to use body parts for research or murder because the embryos are unwanted. If we had the choice we would do away with all fertilization of eggs that are not allowed to grow into born children. The issue of in-vitro fertilization is one on which a lot of people differ because its intent is to help people who have a hard time having babies, and ultimately its goal is to bring life, not death. However I believe it is still wrong because the method ends up creating one life and freezing or letting die thousands of others. I would only approve of it if the method were improved so that no life was discarded.
Meanwhile going back to Hatch’s comments, just because one murderous practice is occuring doesn’t mean its ok to fund another. Maybe currently the only babies that are used for stem cell research are those left over from in-vitro fertilizations. However if you increase funding and give stem cell research the big thumbs up, will no one start producing babies solely for the purpose of research? Also, lets say republicans went with hatch’s logic and decided to fund stem cell research. Later down the road when we decide that the waste of human life that occurs during in-vitro fertilization needs to end, are we going to then reverse stem cell research funding? I think that President Bush and other republicans realize that its better to stop stem cell research in the first pleace then later attempt to reign it in once it is going full speed. If something is wrong then it is wrong, regardless of whether or not a similar practice is taking place.
It is shameful to me that Germany has taken a stand against stem cell research, and is seeking to ban it accross Europe, while we in the US are so blinded by the liberal agenda that even republicans feel compelled to support funding a practice that Europe acknowledges is wrong.
