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News for the Delaware Knights of Columbus
Stop Senate Bill 80
In June of last year, the Delaware State Senate by a vote of 14 to 7 passed Senate Bill 80 titled "The Delaware
Regenerative Medicine Act, Prohibiting Human Reproductive Cloning, and Authorizing Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Research." The Delaware State House of Representatives will consider and vote on this bill on January 12, 2006. If
passed, Governor Minner will sign this legislation into law legalizing the killing of human embryos for scientific research
purposes.
This bill is deceptively titled as a "Regenerative Medicine Act" and implies that many medical cures will result from embryonic
stem cell research. Many people mistakenly believe that this bill will provide a cure for a family member currently suffering
common ailments such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis. This
is a misconception, and the reality remains that this is definitely not the case. Not one single cure can be documented as
attributable to embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have not helped a single human patient or demonstrated any
therapeutic benefit.
By medical definition embryonic stem cells are limited to the first eight weeks of life. Research on adult stem cells has been
around for 30 years and is responsible for many cures. Beneficial stem cell research has been successfully conducted using
stem cells ethically obtained from umbilical cords, umbilical cord blood and placentas. Useful stem cells are also found in
bone marrow, blood, liver, muscle, fat, and nerves. These cells have already been used to successfully treat patients with a
wide variety of diseases.
The bill title also includes "Prohibiting Human Reproductive Cloning", but again, this is misleading. There is nothing in the bill
that specifically prevents cloning of human embryos for research purposes. The bill only bans "reproductive cloning" if a live
birth is an intended result.
Others will argue that human embryos created during the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process are typically discarded or
destroyed when they are no longer needed for fertility treatments. These embryos can be donated to other women or
donated to the Snowflakes Frozen Embryo Adoption Program. They do not have to die. "Excess" embryos are not inevitable
in IVF procedures. Some countries do not allow clinics to create more embryos than a couple plans to raise as children.
They have a lower pregnancy success rate, but feel this is better than having human beings frozen and at risk for deliberate
destruction in the first days of life. The Catholic Church has always taught that IVF is a violation of the marital act.
The same principle could be applied toward the terminally ill or inmates on death row. We don't harvest organs from these
people, just because they are going to die anyway.
The Church supports medical advances when done morally and ethically. It certainly endorses continued adult stem cell
research. However, it condemns embryonic stem cell research because the removal of the stem cell from the embryo
Volume 63, Issue No. 3
January - March 2006
H U M A N E M B R Y O S A R E H U M A N B E I N G S
Special points of interest:
Why Delaware Senate Bill 80
must be stopped.
Information to Contact your
Representative
Fourth Degree News
PSD Scholarship Fundraiser
In this issue:
Human Embryos
are Human Beings
1
State Deputy's
Message
4
Chaplains"s
Message
4
Winter Weekend
7
Delaware Knight
Ready for Harvest ???
On the internet - http://kofc-de.org/
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