I love this editorial by a student from the University of Minnesota. He writes in the University newspaper against the practice of embryonic stem cell research at the University’s Stem Cell Institute and against a measure in his state’s legislature to protect the cloning and destruction of human embryos while pretending to ban cloning.
Morally, embryo-destructive research turns justice on its head, sacrificing the youngest and most vulnerable members of the human family for the dubious promise of future medical breakthroughs. It violates the most basic principle of human dignity: that each and every human being is valuable, regardless of size or level of development.
The Institute’s Web site assures us that the University “work[s] diligently to ensure all research is conducted … in full accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.” But it’s unclear how slicing up embryos is compatible with Minnesota Statute 145.422, which prohibits “use of a living human conceptus for any type of scientific, laboratory research or other experimentation except to protect the life or health of the conceptus.”
A bill currently in the state Legislature could make that question moot. H.F. 34/S.F. 100, sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn and Sen. Dick Cohen, would allow millions of taxpayer dollars to fund embryo-destructive research at the University. Alarmingly, this legislation would also allow funding for human cloning through somatic cell nuclear transplantation, the technique used to create Dolly the sheep.
Not that Kahn and company have the courage to use the “c” word. The House version of the bill actually purports to ban human cloning, all the while explicitly protecting it with just one qualification: that cloned human beings must be subsequently killed for research. According to the bill’s proponents, cloning only counts as “cloning” if the clone is allowed to reach the newborn stage.
Such deception is standard procedure for politicians advancing a clone-and-kill agenda. Make no mistake: they are advocating the creation of brand new humans for the sole purpose of deadly experimentation. Of course, even if the Kahn/Cohen bill fails, the killing will continue. The bottom line: embryonic research here at the University treats tiny human beings like expendable pieces of raw material with which we might experiment…
Some things are worth protesting. Embryo killing at the University of Minnesota is simply unacceptable.
Very well said.