The New Year Has Begun

ChelseaPolitics, Pro Life, Right to Life, Stem Cell ResearchLeave a Comment

So it is time to look back on the year that has come to an end. Wesley Smith wrote a piece for the Center for Bioethics and Culture last month highlighting the ups and downs in bioethics last year. He also did a radio interview on the same subject. Jennifer Lahl also has a similar look back on her blog, which I pointed out earlier. The year had some pretty significant highs – the President’s veto, the establishment of numerous cord blood banks and the amazing results from adult stem cell research and therapy. But we can’t forget the low points – Missouri’s passage of amendment 2 and politicians in states like California and New Jersey using millions of tax payer dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research.

We’re fighting hard, but the battle has only begun, especially now that this research has worked its way into our political system. In Missouri we will be working to get a real cloning ban on the ballot in ’08, Floridians are gathering signatures for duelling ballot proposals that involve the funding of ESC research and Democrats in congress have vowed to challenge the presidential veto by passing another bill expanding federal funds for ESC research. Those are only a few examples of what we will be up against this year so it’s important to remain armed and ready to fight. Unfortunately there is no off season in the fight for life.

Arm yourself:
Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics
Center for Bioetchics and Culture
National Catholic Bioethics Center
Wesley Smith

The Holy Family and the New Year

ChelseaFamily, Marriage, Prayer, Pro LifeLeave a Comment

holy-family.jpgToday was the feast of the Holy Family. It is significant not only that Christ came to earth, but also that he came to earth as a member of a family. The birth of our Savior into the Holy Family of Mary and Joseph reveals the sanctification of family life. This is especially important today because of the breakdown of the family in our society. The Holy Family is a model for all families and is meant to be imitated. This new year, through the intercession of St. Joseph, I pray for the restoration of the family in America and the world.

Father in heaven, creator of all, you ordered the earth to bring forth life and crowned its goodness by creating the family of man. In history’s moment when all was ready, you sent your Son to dwell in time, obedient to the laws of life in our world. Teach us the sanctity of human love, show us the value of family life, and help us to live in peace with all men that we may share in your life for ever. We ask this through Christ the Lord. Amen.

“May the Holy Family, who had to overcome many painful trials, watch over all the families in the world, especially those who are experiencing difficult situations. May the Holy Family also help men and women of culture and political leaders so that they may defend the institution of the family, based on marriage, and so that they may sustain the family as it confronts the grave challenges of the modern age!” ~JPII, 2004

Check out:
Papal Documents on the Family
On Christian Marriage from Pope Leo XIII who instituted the feast of the Holy Family

Cheers!

ChelseaPersonalLeave a Comment

dtr2.JPGThis is how we roll in Newborn (GA). Here’s a nice pic of my family toasting one of many DTR Shooters this Christmas. We returned home Friday evening and I’m finally starting to feel a little normal again. It was a long and exhausting trip (I think we were on the road more than we were visiting relatives), but it was worth it. We had a great time visiting everyone as always – the Zimmermans in GA and the Hornburgs in FL. As promised, here are some pictures from our trip:

me-on-horse.JPG
This was the highlight of our trip for my aunt. I actually got up on one of her horses and rode around for a while, while they held me up of course. I’ve never been on a horse since my accident and I must say, it was a little scary.
beach2.JPGbeach3.JPG
Me and my sisters on Ft. Lauderdale beach Christmas morning

Now that the trip is over and I’m done recuperating, I will be back to regular posting. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and I wish you all many blessings in the new year!

Glory to God in the Highest!

ChelseaPersonal, Pro LifeLeave a Comment

And peace to His people on earth! Merry Christmas everyone! I finally made it to a computer with wireless access. My dad, sister and I had to go to Starbucks this morning to get online – it’s not working too well at my Grandmother’s house. I just wanted to send you all a quick note from south Florida. We actually went to the beach on Christmas Day – something we’ve never done before. It was great! I could have pitched a tent and stayed there forever (the beach is probably my favorite place in the world -any beach, really). Well, that’s all I wanted to say. I have good pictures, but none are on the computer yet. I will get one or two on here as soon as I can. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves this Christmas. As you’re doing your after Christmas shopping, remember to thank God for sending us His only Son – the Savior of the World – and His mother Mary for saying YES to the gift of life!!

Peace and Love to you all!

I’m Off!

ChelseaPersonal1 Comment

xmas.JPGI am leaving for a little family vacation today (Friday). The fam and I are driving down south for Christmas and won’t be back till next Friday. We’ll stay in Georgia tonight and tomorrow night with my dad’s family. Next we’ll drive down to Ft. Lauderdale (Plantation really) to stay with my mom’s family for two days. Then back home – stopping in GA again on the way back. It’s going to be a long trip, but it should be a good one. My mom hasn’t seen her new niece since she was born in June and I love visiting all of my cousins. The only down side is that we have to leave our poor dogs in jail for a week. They’re pretty spoiled so it’s hard to leave them in a kennel. I will have my computer with me and may post while I’m gone – probably on Christmas – but it will be a very busy week! I want to wish everyone safe travels and a very Merry Christmas!

Check out my favorite Christmas movie!

2006 Winners and Losers

ChelseaPro LifeLeave a Comment

Jennifer Lahl has a post on her blog, The Human Future, about the highs and lows this year in biotechnology. George Bush’s ESC fuding veto is among the winners and the state of Missouri, obviously, a loser for approving amendment 2. Check it out.

“Cloning Benefits Oversold”

ChelseaCloning, Pro Life1 Comment

Now there’s a shocker. Those of us on this side of the isle have been saying this from the very beginning. Now scientists are finally admitting to it. This won’t get much play here in the United States.

Cloning research “clearly upsets the general public” yet it has limited potential for treating disease and adds little to scientific understanding of human biology, according to Professor Austin Smith of the University of Cambridge.

While it is in theory possible that cloned embryonic stem (ES) cells could be used to create patient-matched tissue for treating disease, significant technical barriers mean that this goal may never be realised in practice, he told The Times.

…While some cloning experiments proceed for the sake of intellectual curiosity, the research community should be much clearer about the limitations, Professor Smith said. “Its prominence is out of proportion to the significance of what’s being done, and there are real question marks about whether it has any utility at all,” he said.

Who’s Your Daddy?

ChelseaFamily1 Comment

This article in the Washington Post tells the sad story of a girl whose dad was an annonymous sperm donor. Personally I find this whole concept disturbing. Things like this make it very hard for me to be optimistic about the future of our children and our country.

“When she was 32, my mother — single, and worried that she might never marry and have a family — allowed a doctor wearing rubber gloves to inject a syringe of sperm from an unknown man into her uterus so that she could have a baby. I am the result: a donor-conceived child.

And for a while, I was pretty angry about it.

I was angry at the idea that where donor conception is concerned, everyone focuses on the “parents” — the adults who can make choices about their own lives. The recipient gets sympathy for wanting to have a child. The donor gets a guarantee of anonymity and absolution from any responsibility for the offspring of his “donation.” As long as these adults are happy, then donor conception is a success, right?

Not so. The children born of these transactions are people, too. Those of us in the first documented generation of donor babies — conceived in the late 1980s and early ’90s, when sperm banks became more common and donor insemination began to flourish — are coming of age, and we have something to say.

I’m here to tell you that emotionally, many of us are not keeping up. We didn’t ask to be born into this situation, with its limitations and confusion. It’s hypocritical of parents and medical professionals to assume that biological roots won’t matter to the “products” of the cryobanks’ service, when the longing for a biological relationship is what brings customers to the banks in the first place.

We offspring are recognizing the right that was stripped from us at birth — the right to know who both our parents are.

And we’re ready to reclaim it.”

Here you can read her online discussion of the article: Outlook: Looking for Donor Dad

An Amendment to the Amendment

ChelseaCloning, Politics, Pro Life, Stem Cell ResearchLeave a Comment

Sen. Matt Bartle of Lee’s Summit and Rep. Jim Lembke of St. Louis, toured the state today promoting their joint resolution to ban all human cloning in the state of Missouri. The idea of the initiative is to put before Missouri voters a “short, simple and straightforward” ban on all human cloning that would close the massive loophole left in Amendment 2. The Amendment claimed to ban human cloning, while allowing the creation of embryos through somatic cell nuclear transfer (the scientific term for cloning) for the purpose of destroying them for their stem cells. I was present at the press conference in Jefferson City this morning. The media was as biased and vicious as ever in their questioning and of course some representatives from the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures (sponsors of Amendment 2) were on hand to offer their comments to the media afterward. They made the arguments as always, that cloning research is needed to save millions of lives and that supporters of this new initiative are trying to turn back the clock on life saving scientific research. Nevermind the fact that this research has yet to produce the desired results despite decades of work in animal trials.

I stuck around and one reporter did come to interview me and I gladly gave them my pitch that, not only is SCNT the creation of embryonic human life and that the use of this technology for research or reproductive purposes should be banned (something amendment 2 claimed to accomplish, but didn’t), but it is completely unneccesary given the tremendous success of adult stem cells. Because so many people are fed, and believe, the lie that those of us who oppose research that creates and destroys human embryos are trying to restrict science and limit access to cures, I now also make it a point when I speak about this to point out that by opposing this research, we are promoting productive stem cell research that is already available to patients.

Well, I support Sen. Bartle and Rep. Lembke and will no doubt be working hard to lobby the legislature to pass this resolution and put the issue before voters in 2008. It will be a vicious battle, but I’m ready for it!

For info on reasons why embryonic stem cells have not been working see Maureen Condic’s article at First Things:What We Know About Embryonic Stem Cells

Making a Difference TODAY!

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell Research, videoLeave a Comment

So I’m going video crazy lately. I found this truly wonderful video via Google Video. It’s a little long, but I watched the whole thing straight through and was hooked. This is a great tool to share with friends and family about the real benefits of adult stem cell research. The best part is the last segement about a “snowflake baby”. The couple who adopted her includes a father who is in a wheelchair. Addressing those who argue that an embryo left over from IVF treatments is just a small group of cells growing in a petri dish, he remarked, “just because something is small doesn’t make it insignificant.” That tiny group of cells became a beautiful blonde baby girl. He also commented that researchers focusing on only embryonic stem cells and human cloning – ignoring the benefits of adult stem cells – just adds another, “day or week or month or year that I’m in this wheelchair.”

Adult Stem Cell Research Making a Difference Today