GOVERNOR CULVER GETS HIS CLONE AND KILL BILL

THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER

“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself.” (Luke 9:25 NASB)

Our Governor, a self-proclaimed “man of faith” and his minions in both Senate and House, succeeded in repealing Section 707.B of the Iowa Code and substituting it with a law (SF 162) that will allow for the cloning of “human embryos” for the purpose of experimentation and destruction. The attack on these human embryos was led by senators and representatives who serve the “people’s republic of Johnson County,” lobbyists and staff of the University of Iowa, the Iowa Medical Society, the ACLU, and Planned Parenthood of Iowa.

You can download SF 162, which is a clone of SF 115 and HF 287, from the Legislature’s web site. It’s a simple bill but a devastating blow to Iowa’s pro-life citizens. Thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of human embryos, will now be created to further research on embryonic stem cells, ostensibly to find “cures” and “treatments” for a long list of mankind’s most dreaded health insults. There is, however, one problem. Embryonic stem cells are unstable and difficult to work with. When they have been implanted in laboratory animals, they have, in almost every instance, produced tumors. That’s why private investment into this type of stem cell research is almost zero, to match the results, which also are zero. You wouldn’t know that from the proponents of SF 162 at the public hearing on Wednesday or the House of Representatives’ debate on Thursday evening.

At the public hearing, about 50 or so Iowans who suffer from or have loved ones who suffer from juvenile diabetes, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) or Alzheimer’s, to name a few, spoke of the “cures” that would be denied them if SF 162 did not pass. Most seemed not to know that their best hope for “cures” is research and treatments with adult stem cells, which includes cord blood, placenta and, most recently, amniotic fluid. This is the research that is receiving private and public dollars and yielding amazing results. This is the research in which Senate and House Republicans were willing to invest tax dollars. This is the research that was touted at the public hearing by medical ethicists, scientists who are doing stem cell research and a Catholic Archbishop from Dubuque. It’s unfortunate that the House Democrats did not hear about this research. Why? Because they were in rooms behind the chamber for this part of the public hearing. Only one Democrat representative, Rep. Mark Smith, Chairman of the House Committee on Human Resources, who had to conduct the hearing, heard all the testimony. During the first part of the hearing, when the majority of the speakers who urged opposition to SF 162 and retention of Sec. 707.B of the Code gave their testimony, the floor of the House chamber was occupied by 47 Republicans and zero Democrats. When the lineup of speakers shifted to those who supported SF 162 began, the Democrats started to arrive. This was a blatant, orchestrated boycott of the truth. I need to point out to these representatives that they represent the people, not the governor or their own leadership. The 300+ citizens who sat in the galleries of your chamber saw what you did; they will tell 3,000 and that 3,000 will tell others and your callous attitude toward “all” of the truth will be remembered.

During the debate on SF 162 in the House, which lasted for almost five hours, eighteen Republican representatives spoke passionately about the need to retain Sec. 707.B in order to protect human embryos, regardless of their origin. Two Democrats, the sponsor of the bill and the chair of the Human Resources Committee, defended the bill. Since none of the self-proclaimed adherents to Roman Catholic theology were present when the Archbishop of Dubuque gave his testimony at the public hearing, Representative David Heaton of House District 91, Henry and Lee Counties, read the Archbishop’s presentation. It seemed not to matter to any Democrat in the House. They had decided party politics over personal conviction and/or principle.

“Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong.” Daniel O’Connell 1775-1847, Irish statesman called the “Liberator.”

Formed the Catholic Association 1823

One Democrat vote was particularly disappointing to those of us who lobbied against the bill. Representative Brian Quirk, who throughout the day, in the hours before the debate, committed and confirmed a number of times that he would oppose on personal principles, HF 162, changed his mind and cast the deciding vote in favor of the bill. We know that both House and Senate leadership, and our “man of faith” governor, put tremendous pressure on individual Democrat representatives, especially those who expressed some moral or ethical concerns about creating human life for the purpose of research and destruction. All, except Rep. Delores Mertz, HD 8 and Rep. Michael Reasoner, HD 95, succumbed to the pressure and bought the lie that somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) does not create human life because the female egg is not fertilized by male sperm. If it is not a human embryo, what is it? That’s a question the Democrats would not or could not answer. It’s ironic that this debate on human SCNT took place on the tenth anniversary of the “creation” of Dolly the sheep by animal SCNT (no sperm involved).

In summary, 51 Democrats and 0 Republicans voted to repeal a section of Iowa Code (707.B) and replace it with one that would ban only cloning for reproductive purposes, but legalize what had been a class C felony, therapeutic cloning, for the purpose of research and experimentation. SF 162 passed by one vote in the Senate and one vote in the House. In both votes, all except six Democrats voted for the measure, and all of the Republicans voted against.

If your senator and representative is a Republican or one of the following Democrats: Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, Sen. Tom Hancock, Sen. Joe Seng, Sen. William Heckroth, Rep. Dolores Mertz or Rep. Michael Reasoner, please send them a note, call or e-mail them a thank you for defending the defenseless.

If your senator or representative is a Democrat (except for those listed above) let them know, politely and with respect, that you are disappointed in their vote. Let them know that, as a constituent, you will stay informed and hold them accountable for their votes, especially on issues you deem are critical for defending the powerless from the powerful.

To see a list of who voted and how, go to www.iowachristian.com. You may also get contact information on our web site. Be frank; but I repeat my admonition, be polite and respectful.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NASB)

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5 (NASB)